


is that your voice (or is that me)

by tanightt



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Different Mastermind (Dangan Ronpa), Blood and Injury, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Horror, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Interactive Fic, Iruma Miu Being Iruma Miu, Multi, Oma Kokichi Being Oma Kokichi, Paranoia, Psychological Horror, depending on u guys’ choices, it’ll make sense w the story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:26:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25326880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tanightt/pseuds/tanightt
Summary: She hears the movement, the slow drag of unnaturally long legs against cracked cement. Kaede clenches her eyes tight until it sparks color, and she doesn’t even need to hold her breath.She can’t breathe.(or: kaede and her classmates are trapped on top of a mountain, being hunted down by creatures that shouldn’t exist.)an interactive fic!
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede & Oma Kokichi, Chabashira Tenko & Yumeno Himiko, Harukawa Maki & Saihara Shuichi & Momota Kaito, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Saihara Shuichi & Akamatsu Kaede
Comments: 117
Kudos: 78





	1. welcome to the party

**Author's Note:**

> this is an interactive fic, in which you as the readers vote for what you want to happen. whether characters die, what kind of relationships are formed, are all dependent on your votes at the end of each chapter!
> 
> this chapter is v short as it’s just a tester to see if the voting works out :)

**Kaede** taps her foot nervously, listening to the quiet squish of the snow she’d tracked inside crunching. She really, really needs one of the others to make it here soon—it’s absolutely freezing, and she has no idea how to work the ski lift.

Kirumi had been kind enough to write down instructions for them—as they had refused to allow her to sit and wait there to help all of them up as they arrived, particularly because some of their classmates adored being fashionably late. However, that paper was missing now, and she has a few _guesses_ as to who took it. She had also sent the instructions to their class group chat, but Kaede’s phone was at 5 percent and she didn’t want to risk using the last of its life on instructions she may potentially be unable to figure out. 

So here she was, sitting in the cold lift control room on a somehow even colder bench, certainly not dressed for the weather. She could just go around—there was a different path up the mountain that she used last year, but it required a longer trek and she didn’t want to complete it bare-legged.

“Why did I wear a skirt,” she laments, cursing her past self. She did have pants in her luggage, but there was no bathroom near. Her leg warmers would just have to do for now. “At least I’m not outside in the snow...” 

Kaede waited a little impatiently, wondering why it was taking the others so long. She knew Kaito and Miu—mostly Miu—loved showing up late and making a scene, and that Himiko tended to oversleep, but where are the others? 

Earlier, her phone was blowing up with so many _on my ways_ and _we’re heres_ that she was afraid the constant vibrating would kill her battery. Now it was silent. 

Huffing and watching her breath fog the air, she’s close to giving in and hoping her phone can hold out while she looks for the instructions when the quiet crunch of snow sparks her interest. Peeking through the window, she sees two figures marching towards the ski lifts, and nearly yelps in joy. She can see them against the sun setting, golden orange against a shade of green hair and the bulky body of the gentle giant that lets her know exactly who those two are. 

She immediately pushes open the door, startling both boys. “Whoa,” Rantarou says, raising his brows. “Were you just chilling in the dark?”

“Oh, the dark doesn’t really bother me... honestly I wasn’t really paying attention.” Sometimes she got so invested in playing piano, she never noticed it was dark until she couldn’t see the keys anymore. It happened to her way more than she’d ever admit. 

Gonta gives her a concerned look. “Akamastu-san is not cold wearing skirt?”

“It’s kind of chilly for sure..” An understatement, considering how loudly her teeth were chattering in rhythm with the shivers overtaking her frame.

“Oh! Gonta give Akamastu-san his jacket!”

“No, no, that’s okay, Gonta-“ but it was too late. Gonta had already slipped his brown jacket off, offering it with a big smile. Kaede couldn’t bring herself to say no to such a happy face. “Are you sure _you_ won’t get cold?”

“Gonta grew up outside,” he responds proudly. “Gonta don’t get cold very easily.”

Kaede sighs in acceptance, knowing that his mind is unlikely to change and gratefully taking the huge jacket. “Thank you, Gonta-kun.”

Rantarou grins. “What a gentleman. But I must ask... why were you just sitting in there? Is the ski lift broken or something?”

Kaede felt her cheeks redden beyond the cold, the embarrassment creeping instantly. She laughs nervously. “Uh, about that... do you guys know use the ski lift?”

Following some light hearted teasing from Rantarou, who ended up being the only one who had the instructions, they were able to reactivate the lift—it had to be turned off every time someone used it or power would waste.

The three sat in the lift, looking at the blank white snow of the mountains silhouetted against the upcoming moonshine.

Gonta smiles purely. “Are friends excited to be on trip together?”

“Definitely,” Kaede nods. “This will be great for our class to bond even more! I’m sure it’ll be fun. Hopefully nothing will go _too_ wrong,” she says, shuddering. Something _will_ go wrong, as is inevitable with her class, but the bickering and pranks were nowhere near as terrible when the year first started. 

_Or like the last vacation you tried to take as a class_ , whispers a traitorous voice. Kaede tries hard to stop herself frowning, and forces herself to keep eye contact with Rantarou. _It’s in the past._

Rantarou chuckles, “We can only hope, but who knows what’ll happen with Ouma or Iruma around. Or... most of our classmates, honestly.”

Gonta gasps suddenly, twisting so quickly in his seat the entire gondola holding them thousands of feet above the ground swayed strongly. Kaede feels her heart pound, terrified both of Gonta’s power accidentally making them plummet and of the way Gonta looks like he’s about to jump out of the gondola himself.

“G-Gonta-kun?!” She never had a particular fear of heights before, but now that she was actively looking down over, she felt her stomach shrivel at the sheer distance from the snow covered foliage.

“Look! Butterfly!” Kaede turns her head and yes, there are in fact several butterflies hovering nearby. She releases the death grip she had on her seat, grimacing at the gum remnants on her fingers. _This is fresh... damn it, guys_.

“That’s nice, Gonta,” Rantaro says, eyes opening from when he clenched them shut in fear. “But, uh, please be a little more careful? These things are probably old and not the most stable anymore..”

Gonta’s eyes widen apologetically. “Gonta is sorry! No one hurt, right?”

“Don’t worry, we’re okay.” 

“What kind of butterflies are those, Gonta-kun?” Kaede asks, trying not to wince as she debates whether to try wiping the gum off on her clothes or the small seat space next to her. 

“It is sasakia charonda! The Great Purple Emperor.” Suddenly, she’s glad neither Kokichi nor Kaito were there to hear that one. Rantarou gives her a knowing look. “But why here in snow mountains? They live more in forest areas...”

“Some type of migration, maybe?” Rantarou offers. Gonta shakes his head slowly, but doesn’t offer more as he stares determinedly. “Whatever it is, they sure are beautiful.” 

“Yes,” Gonta says, “but it is dangerous for bugs to be in places they do not live in. Can cause invasions, and hurt ecosystems.”

”They could have accidentally been delivered here.” 

“Gonta hopes they are able to find way back home.” 

(And she doesn’t know why, but Kaede begins to feel uneasy. Just a small roil in her gut, as if that statement had made her intuition go haywire. She decides to blame it on the gum.)

After a smaller trek, in which they had to break through a fence—thank goodness for Gonta—and go over a worriedly rickety bridge,they finally make their way up to the cabin. Already she can see lights through the frosted windows, on both stories. She knocks firmly, and the door opens to give way to chaos. 

The interior of the cabin itself was beautiful. A high chandelier, dangling light prettily across the room. The walls, the lattice beneath the stairs, the smooth floors, it was all wood, just like an authentic cabin. The fireplace was roaring strong behind its glass container. It could’ve almost been cozy, if the paintings on the wall weren't so extremely disturbing. Every one of them held the image of a bear—white and black, with a strange jagged eye. She didn’t know why, but it made her uncomfortable. What was the point of it?

Miu, who was clearly in the middle of shouting, turns to point aggressively at the newcomers. “And look at those assholes! Always bitchin’ about _me_ being late but look at you now, Bakamastu!” 

“Atua knew you would be late, class rep!”

“You still have no room to talk, Iruma-san,” Korekiyo hums from an armchair. “The only reason you came early was to sneak in alcohol.”

Kaede flinches slightly, surprised that Miu somehow arrived before her. Actually, most of her classmates were here before her. That was pretty much impossible on a _good_ day. “H-How late are we?”

Kirumi opens up her pocket watch from where she holds the door open for the trio. “It is currently 7:32.” They were supposed to meet here at 6... _how long was I just sitting outside?!_ She had waited a while in her car before she left for the lodge—she needed time to psych herself up to face them all in such a _familiar_ situation again. Still, had she really lost track of time like that? “Do not fret, Akamastu-san,” Tojo continued, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Plenty were untimely aside from you, as expected.” Whether that was meant to be a barb or not was left to be determined.

“Gonta not mean to be so late!”

“Yeah,” Rantarou says, slipping his shoes off. “It was my fault, or my car’s fault I guess. I was gonna drive us here, but it wouldn’t start, so we had to take a bus and walk.”

“Oh, that was me!” a voice says cheerfully from the kitchen. “I stole the battery last weekend. I can’t believe it took you so long to notice.” 

“Sure you did, Ouma,” Rantarou chuckles. Kaede and Gonta slip off their shoes as well, and make their way towards everyone sitting about the living room. Tenko and Himiko are on the loveseat, the latter napping through Miu’s screaming. Angie sits daintily on the back of it, legs separating the former two much to Tenko’s unsubtle chagrin. Maki is in the armchair opposite Korekiyo, and she can see a purple jacket draped across the back of her chair, so she knows Kaito is here somewhere. How he’s enduring without his jacket is a mystery. At least the floor was heated, that felt nice. _Wait... jacket._

She freezes slightly, hoping to take it off as subtly as possible, but of course, that’s when Kokichi comes out of the kitchen. He’s about to take a sip from that horrid grape soda he likes when he gasps dramatically, pointing at Kaede. “Akamatsu-chan, what’s thaaaaat? Are you wearing someone else’s coat? How romantic!”

_Dang it._ “Ah, yeah, I was a little cold.”

Miu perks back up, looking over at Kaede more closely this time, and begins cackling immediately. Kaede sighs as she knows exactly what’s coming. “Wow, look at how huge that thing is on you! Guess you got cold after spending time with Big Dick, huh? He give you his coat after you finished getting down ‘n dirty?”

“No! That’s not at all what happened!”

“Iruma-san!” Kiibo’s voice rings out from the second floor, scandalized. She looks up and sees him, vaguely wondering if he is at all affected by the cold, and if the snow could potentially hurt his systems.

Tenko glares slightly at the gentle giant. “How dare you make a move on Akamatsu-san! And how could you let that happen?!” She turns over to glare at Rantarou this time, who raises his hands placatingly.

“Down and dirty?” Gonta questions.

Kokichi smirks. “Yep, down ‘n dirty. That’s when you give someone else your jacket.”

“Oh, then yes! I did the down and the dirty!” Miu laughs even harder as most of the room sighs.

“No Gonta,” sighs Shuichi from the couch. His hat is nearly covering his eyes, as per usual. He had started to leave his hat behind, started to gain more confidence in himself as a detective, but then last year’s class vacation came and ruined it. Kaede bites her lip and shudders slightly. “That’s not what down... uh, what _that_ means. Just ignore all of them. It’s good to see you guys.” 

The trio returns the sentiment, Rantarou meandering off to the kitchen while the other two find a place on the couch. Kaede pulls quilt sitting on the back, tossing it over her, Shuichi and Gonta’s legs. She looks over and sees Kokichi steal Kaito’s jacket from behind Maki and run away, the latter making no effort to stop him other than a glare. She had no time to respond anyways, as Kokichi stops behind Kaede’s couch just as Kaito’s voice yells from the second floor.

“Kaede!” He calls excitedly, exiting a room that now had steam bellowing out. He was wearing pajamas—space themed, of course. “Gonta, Amami, you guys finally got here! Now the party can get started.”

“Huh?” Kaede looks around the room again. “Where’s Shirogane-san and Hoshi-kun?”

“Oh, I’ve been in the kitchen,” Tsumugi peeks through the doorway. “Hello!”

She returns the greeting. “Then is Hoshi-kun upstairs somewhere?” Kaede frowns, hoping her suspicions aren’t true. 

Unfortunately, they were. “Hoshi-kun declined joining us last minute,” Tojo said solemnly, hand against her chest. Kaede opens her mouth, but nothing comes out as an odd atmosphere takes over. She wonders if he bailed last minute to avoid anyone—anyone being herself, Kaito and Gonta—pestering him into going. _Again_. Kaede thought going on a class trip would help Ryoma, to show him that there were people in the world who cared about him.

Evidently, she failed in that aspect.

She’s not sure how well it will work, but she makes a mental note to text Ryoma sometime tonight. They had gotten permission from a very eager Hope’s Peak to stay here for three days—if she could potentially change his mind tonight, he’d still have plenty of time to join them.

“Damn it,” Kaito says, coming down the stairs slowly and looking slightly put out. “Why?”

“Obviously, Hoshi-chan decided he hated all of us and left us here to be slaughtered by an axe murderer.”

“Really?” Himiko looks around for said axe murderer sluggishly, Tenko instantly all over her.

“Sh-shut up, Ouma! There are no axe murderers here.” Kaito says it confidently, yet still looks almost desperately at Kirumi, who sighs and shakes her head. 

Tsumugi comes from the kitchen before she can respond. Like Kaito, she’s also wearing pajamas, though hers are obscure anime themed. Kaede thinks she even sees a girl with her tongue stuck out. “Oh, that would be plain exciting! Almost like a bottle episode, only the characters are stuck in a bottle and have to fight for their lives.”

Himiko was somehow summoned from her nap. “Nyeh, I’m in a bottle..?”

“I’m not sure ‘exciting’ is the right word,” Shuichi mumbles, picking at the quilt. Kaede lightly bats his hand away with a kind smile.

“Don’t worry, friends! Gonta will keep everyone safe.”

“Tenko will protect all the girls!”

Rantarou chuckles, “So the rest of us guys are just chopped liver, then?”

“No one is going to have to protect,” Kirumi sighed. “The only thing that will hurt us is the snow.”

“Yep! Atua says he will keep us perfectly safe.”

“Exactly,” Kaito pumps a fist. “The only thing we need to worry about is having fun! Hey, what the hell are you doing with my jacket?”

“Did you really just notice,” Maki sighs.

“Huh?” Kokichi drawls, “jacket? What jacket?”

“Mine! The one in your hands!” 

“Nope, don’t think I recall.” 

Kaede shakes her head fondly and looks back towards the main group as Kaito begins to chase after Kokichi, bickering all the while. “So,” she raises her voice over the ruckus, smiling, “what were you guys up to before we got here?”

“We had simply been chatting in wait for latecomers,” Korekiyo hums. Kaede tries not to wince at the reminder. 

“Yeah, and it’s boring as shit,” Miu huffs. “No one’s even talking about anything juicy and wet. Yawn.” And then, of course, she actually did end up yawning, creating an unfortunate domino effect. 

“Yawn is right, Iruma-chan!” Kokichi calls from the halfway down the stairs now, still with Kaito’s jacket, the other man himself sprinting across the second floor landing. She hears Tsumugi compare him to a cryptid. “It’s time for bed. Night night everyone!” 

“What the hell’re you talking about, get ready for bed?! Don’t be such a shriveled old woman!”

“Iruma-san, you said you were going to bed as soon as you got here,” Shuichi states awkwardly before Kokichi can insult her. Miu blushes, squirming at being called out. 

“W-well, that’s just because it was so boring...” 

“It’s really early though,” Kaede frowns. “Unless you’re actually tired, Iruma-san. No shame in that.”

”What kinda virgin are you? Who the hell goes to bed so early?”

“I bet Iruma-chan goes to bed at 8PM sharp every night.”

“What’s wrong with going to bed at 8?” Gonta tilts his head. 

“I typically sleep near 8 as well!” Kiibo says proudly. 

Kokichi snickers. “You don’t sleep, robocop.”

“I-I consider charging my variant of sleeping!” 

“Regardless,” Kirumi says hastily, smoothing our her dress. Kaede wonders how she doesn’t look cold at all, composed as ever. She’s under a quilt, and next to _Gonta_ , the space heater himself, and she still feels herself shuddering. “If you would like to turn to bed, there are quite enough futons set up, though we will have to share rooms.” _Oh boy. That will be interesting._

“What?! No one’s going to bed right now! We have a party to get started! I didn’t bring a that booze for nothin’.”

“How did you even get alcohol?” Shuichi asks, though he looked like he regretted it immediately as Miu began a tall tale. Kaede couldn’t bring herself to listen to it fully, when she feels as strange prickle crawl across her nape, spider like. She stiffens, turns to see the sliding glass doors, looking through them warily. The moon has nearly overtaken the sky, but there’s still enough light to see the footprints in the snow. The bushes are shaking, dropping half dead leaves. She blinks rapidly, trying to understand. _One of the others came in through the patio door_ , she reassured herself. _There’s an animal rustling around._ _You’re just taking Kokichi’s axe murderer conspiracy too seriously_.

Yeah, that had to be right. She could see tracks of snow in front of the glass, melting against the wood of the lodge. They were fine. Kirumi was looking towards them. She would see anyone near the glass-

“Akamastu-san?” She flinches, turning to face Shuichi. 

“Yes, Saihara-kun?”

”You okay, Kaede?” Kaito plops down on the arm of Maki's armrest, eliciting a glare out of habit, now with his signature jacket thrown over his shoulder as he sneaks glances at Kokichi sticking his tongue out next to Kiibo. 

“Yeah, I just thought I heard a raccoon outside, or something,” she smiles, hoping that she’s right. Even if there were a person outside—which there wasn’t—there were way more of them. Not to mention they were all Ultimates. They could handle anything together.

Fortune is on her side as Korekiyo nods from where he’s slouched over his bag. “I was merely asking for your opinion regarding a game I brought along.” Oh yeah. Korekiyo had been one of the people who volunteered to bring along entertainment for idle time. She had been surprised he volunteered, though she eagerly agreed with him becoming more open. 

“What game?”

He pulls the game out, and she understands why he was so willing to volunteer himself.

**OUIJA**.

“W-what the h-hell, man?” Kaito immediately pales and clings to Maki’s arm, who pushes him away embarrassedly. 

Angie laughs, throwing her hands in the air as she threatens to tip off the couch. “Wow, amazing! That’s definitely a bad idea.”

”Figures,” scoffs Miu. “You wanna summon a fuckin’ ghost to help you be a creep.”

“Gh-gh-ghosts aren’t real! Don’t say shit like that!”

”Aw, Momota-chan, are you scared of a witty bitty poltergeist?”

“Why would I be s-scared of something that’s not real?!”

”How cowardly. As expected of a degenerate.”

Kaede shakes her head, trying to regain order outside of Kaito’s blatant fear. “Shinguuji-kun... why?”

”I figured your reactions would be as such,” he chuckles lowly, and she can’t picture the smile behind the thick mask. _Well, he definitely not cold_. “This is something that is very common among parties, along with Bloody Mary and similar adrenaline inducing games. I figured this would be more exciting and inclusive than Bloody Mary. We would also have the opportunity to speak to a soul beyond the grave. Even better that we are in an unfamiliar place.”

”I have heard Ouija many times,” Kiibo admits. “But every time, it is because they have opened a passage and became haunted.”

”You can’t be haunted,” Maki rolls her eyes. “Those people are either paranoid or riding on the fear and adrenaline.”

”Yeah, you know a lot about _riding_ , don’t you,” Miu mutters smugly, though she wilts immediately under the glare she receives.

“Do you want to die?”

”Eek! It was j-just a joke...”

“Don’t worry!” Tsumugi says cheerfully. “If we do let in phantoms, we can just exorcise them with our shinki! Who will be the weapons, I wonder..”

”We ain’t exercising shit!” Kaito exclaims, sweating now. His poor pajamas. “Ghosts ain’t real. Why can’t we play something normal, like UNO?!” 

“Nyahaha! Atua says spirits don’t exist. If we communicate through the board, we’ll find someone who’s still alive.”

”Or maybe we’ll find someone undead.”

”Sh-shut up, Ouma! Those things ain’t r-real.”

Shuichi shakes his head gently. “Why do you sound so terrified, then...”

”So close to bed, playing something simple like UNO is likely to let everyone sleep easier.” Kirumi inclines her head. “Regardless of whichever game, I will make snacks.” 

”UNO destroys friendships,” Rantarou shudders, looking as if he’s having flashbacks. “I don’t know if anyone will be able to sleep after getting plus four’d.”

”Gonta has never tried UNO or Ouija,” he says, struggling over the names. “What is plus four?”

Tsumugi lights up. “Plus Ultra?!”

”I don’t think we’ll be able to properly decide like this,” Shuichi sighs. “I’m actually kind of tired, but I think I’d be okay with either game.” _Or sleeping_ , he left unsaid, as Miu was bound to hear it.

It was still really early—barely 8—but she could use sleep just from being surrounded by her classmates for ten minutes. She cares about them, she really does, but they were certainly exhausting, though she knew she wasn’t much better. She could easily be just as rambunctious as Kaito if the mood was right. Speaking of Kaito, he would clearly be terrified if they played with the spirit board, though he would try to act like he wasn’t. She was also feeling a little freaked out over that strange feeling of being watched earlier. The idea of messing with the ouija board filled her with excitement as much as it did with inklings of dread. Not to mention, if something actually happened, they would be set up for their own haunted house in winter.

Then again, if she chose to turn in early, she could charge her phone. She couldn’t see any outlets in this room, though she hasn’t checked thoroughly, and she didn’t want to leave her phone wherever one was, at least not while everyone was awake. She could also text her sister that she made it, and text Hoshi, and _finally_ put on her warmer pants. Although maybe she should do that soon anyways.

UNO would probably be a more fun choice, though she knew all the competitiveness in the class—including herself—might bring plenty of trouble. Not to mention she knew some of her classmates were inclined to cheat, though she doubted Miu could make an invention to somehow rig UNO on such short notice. 

“You look like you have something to say, Akamastu-san,” Kirumi smiles kindly at her. 

“Yeah,” Angie singsongs. “What do you wanna do, class rep?”

Kaede scratches her head lightly. She thought about it a little more, but in the end she knew her choice. Kaede decides to...

**a) have fun with the Ouija board.**

**b) play competitive UNO with snacks.**

**c) let the others decide what they want, and turn into bed early.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so that is the first choice of the fic! to vote, just comment which choice you’d prefer, A, B, or C. after a bit (maybe a few days to a week) i’ll tally up all of them (if i get any lmao.) dw, the choices will get harder and harder as we go...


	2. lights out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, option B won by just two votes! thank u guys for voting in the first place, and thanks even more for ur kind words :D i really appreciate them and they inspire me to write faster,, hopefully i can manage to update about once a week,,
> 
> anyways enjoy !

“It’s a very nice suggestion, Shinguuji-kun,” **Kaede** says, hoping he isn’t too disappointed. “But it might make some of us feel better if we don’t do something involving ghosts.”

”Yeah, poor Momota-chan would have a heart attack from the fear.”

”T-the hell I would! I’m as healthy as can be. And I’m not scared, anyways!”

“Ah, I see.” Luckily, Korekiyo didn’t seem too surprised, but she couldn’t tell accurately from the little of his face she could see. “I suppose it would not be wise to begin our trip with fear.”

“Don’t worry!” She smiles, hopefully reassuringly. “We’re here for two more days, we can definitely find time to play during the day.” Though with the chills still running down her spine, she kind of hopes they don’t. 

“Damn, so we’re really playing UNO? Ready for me to wipe the floor with your punk asses?”

“Iruma-san,” Kiibo frowns slightly. “I hope you aren’t planning to cheat again...”

“W-what?! I would never do something like cheating..”

Himiko glares lazily, pulling a deck of uno cards from behind Angie’s ear, who cheers eagerly. “If you cheat using my deck, I’ll hex you.” 

“Yeah right, flat tits. As if you’d be able to curse me. That shit’s faker than Angie’s god.”

Tenko opens her mouth, but doesn’t get the chance to argue magic on Himiko’s behalf. “Iruma,” Angie smiles, though the sharpness behind it is clear in her darkening eyes. “Watch what you say, or stay silent completely.” 

Miu flinches with a small _eep_ , and Kaede decides to intervene. “Guys, we’re getting off track. Game, remember?”

“Yeah!” Kaito pumps his fists together, much more energized now that supernatural games were out of the picture. 

“Should we divide into teams?” Shuichi covers his mouth. “Sixt- fifteen people is a lot to play a card game with. It will take a really long time...”

Miu snickers, pointing an accusatory finger. “You scared you can’t win by yourself, huh Shyhara?”

“N-No, I just didn’t want the game to last all night.”

“Well suck it up, cause that’s what vacations all about, staying up all night and getting drunk! This gorgeous girl genius is gonna school you losers all by herself. Yo, Tojo, let’s bring out the drinks!”

“I can make hot chocolate, tea, or coffee, but I must ask that we refrain from alcohol.”

“I agree,” Kiibo frowns. “We are not of age yet. How did you even get them?”

“When you’re as sexy as me, you can get anything for free.”

“She stole them from her parents’ liqueur cabinet,” Kokichi deadpans, and Miu predictably begins stuttering and arguing at being called out.

Instead of dealing with that, Kaede turns back to Kirumi. “Tojo-san, this is your vacation too. You don’t have to make us all drinks.” 

“It is no problem, Akamastu-san,” the other smiles pleasantly. “I was already preparing before your arrival.”

“Oh, mom! I want hot chocolate with a mountain of marshmallows and three cherries on top and extra milk.”

“No, he doesn’t,” Kaito rolls his eyes. “You already have a drink, Ouma.”

“Aw, you caught me. I don’t even like hot chocolate.”

“That’s definitely a lie! Who doesn’t like hot chocolate?!”

“Anyways,” Angie sings loudly, “Angie would like some hot chocolate with whipped cream.”

“Ah, if you don’t mind too much, Tojo,” Rantarou rubs the back of his neck.

Tenko crosses her arms sternly. “Of course a lazy degenerate is going to make Tojo-san do all the work.”

“You didn’t have anything to say about Angie, though.” He sighs, though like much of the class, knew better than to argue with Tenko’s degeneracy talk.

“I do not mind, Chabashira-san. There is enough in the kitchen for all of us and more. If anyone else wants whipped cream or anything else, please let me know.”

“But Tojo-san,” Kaede tries, knowing she won’t be able to change her mind but attempting anyways. “That’s a lot of cups to make... you’ll miss the game.”

Oddly enough, Kirumi appeared to fluster ever so slightly. “I was not planning to play in the first place. I... do not know how.” Seemingly embarrassed, she curtsies and moves away into the kitchen.

“What the fuck?” Miu gasps. “Who the hell doesn’t know how to play uno?”

“Gonta doesn’t know what uno is either.”

“Hmph. I guess this genius has to teach you everything.”

“Don’t lie, Iruma-chan! You don’t know how to play either.” Miu tries denying it, but when questioned how the game worked, she shut down immediately.

Kaede sighs, pushing down her fond annoyance at her classmates antics as Tenko dealt out the cards, insisting that the girls ‘be wary of degenerate cheating.’ She understands why Gonta doesn’t know uno, growing up away from society for so long. Kirumi, she figures, spends so long as a servant that she doesn’t enjoy much free time, a thought that made her frown. Rantarou and Kaito helped explain the rules, with the addition of Kiibo’s computer like reciting. 

But what matters is the game was underway for barely 10 minutes and the cabin was already in chaos.

”Ouma,” Maki hisses, “Play another +4 on me and I will kill you.”

”So scary! Momota-chan, save me from your girlfriend!”

”She’s not my girlfriend!” Kaito yells in return. Maki sends Kokichi an even worse glare, but her cheeks redden still when she turns to glance at Kaito. Kaede has to shake her head at Maki’s pure lack of subtlety. 

”Oh, this is plainly not my game,” Tsumugi pouts. “If only this were a punishment game where I could see everyone’s deer in headlights expression with a plot twist win!”

“Gonta does not think he is very good either,” he says sadly, and considering he had about half the deck in his hand, Gonta was very much correct. 

“Hey, how come nobody’s calling out the witch bitch for cheating?” Miu snarks, pointing at Himiko who was allowing Angie to look at her cards. 

“I don’t care... I’m too tired to play anymore.”

Tenko looks put out that she wasn’t being included in the card sharing. “I’m sure you’ll feel much more energized when you get hot chocolate, Yumeno-san!”

”You’re still cheating!” Rantarou chuckles, as Angie switches one of Himiko’s cards for her own while they are all still watching. “Right when all the attention’s on you, too. How bold.”

“What kind of coward has to cheat at uno?!” Kaito huffs.

“I’m not cheating!” Angie smiles as she sets down a draw 2. “I’m using the resources Atua is providing me.”

” _Yumeno_ is providing them!”

”I’m Atua?” she questions drowsily as she stacks another draw two, making it a draw four.

”Oh hell no,” Kaito clenches his fists as Tenko stacks _another_ draw two. He looks over desperately at the group on the couch, starting with a hesitant Shuichi. “Shuichi, my sidekick, my bro, please tell me you don’t have another draw two.”

”Wow, he’s even resorted to begging now. Momota-chan really does suck at uno.”

”I’m sorry, Momota-kun,” Shuichi says, clearly trying not to laugh. “But I won’t draw 6.” And adds to the stack once again. 

“No!” Kaito shouts, looking harried. “Kaede, Gonta, tell me you don’t have more-“

”I’m sorry too, Momota-kun,” Kaede laughs, feeling freer than she has in a long time. “But it must be done.” She adds another, and Gonta repeats the sentiment sadly as he stacks the final draw two before Kaito, thus giving him a terrible, terrible draw 12.

Korekiyo gives his signature laugh as Kaito swears distraughtly with each card he takes. “So this is humanity at its most desperate.” Then, he places down a reverse, forcing Kaito’s turn again and forsaking Miu’s. _At least he gets a chance to get rid of one._ Kaede would be lying if she said she felt bad. She was going to win this game, and if it took crushing her friends with draw twos, so be it.

”I can’t fucking believe this,” Kaito grumbles as he skips Gonta. “My own sidekicks. I knew we shouldn’t have done stacking rules.”

”Are you alright?” Kirumi asks as she wanders into the room with several mugs of hot chocolate on a tray. “I can hear Momota-kun cursing from the kitchen.

”Yeah, he just sucks,” Miu snickers, though recoils immediately when it comes back around and Kiibo gives her a draw four.

”Uno!” Kokichi yells, pointing dramatically at Kiibo’s hand. “You’d think a robot would be better at memorizing the rules.”

”How robophobic of you to assume that!” Kiibo frowns as he draws cards, a consequence for not claiming uno in time. “I’ll have you know my memory is just as good as any normal teenage boy.”

“Having the memory of a degenerate isn’t worth anything.” Tenko crosses her arms, still looking put out as she watches Angie and Himiko whisper. Kaede can’t help but feel a little bad for her.

Kaede glances around at her opponents, sizing them up. Kaito and Gonta were definitely not going to win at this point. Tenko has refused to place any bad cards onto Himiko, making her hand grow quickly. All in all, her only real competition was Kiibo, Shuichi, Kokichi, Rantarou, and Tsumugi, despite the lady’s claim that she wasn’t any good. All of them had around 5 or less cards left. She looks at her hand, spreading them to see all the remaining. 4 cards left, but almost all of them are red. Her only real saving grace would be if she happened to have the same number as the top of the discard, because it didn’t seem like the color would change from blue anytime soon. 

She glances over to Rantarou, who just put down a draw two onto Kokichi, who expectedly stacked it onto Maki, who was looking more and more annoyed as the game went on. Truly, she would be too. Kokichi seemed to be pulling draw cards from thin air, not that Rantarou was any better. The man in question gave Kaede a sly smirk, making her bite back a smile. This was a competition. She had to be serious. 

Kirumi reaches Kaede finally, offering her a hot chocolate with whipped cream. Just as Kaede is about to give her thanks and make space for Kirumi on the couch, an odd, sharp sound split the air, like something snapping, making several people flinch. It only took a few seconds after that for the lights to cut out. The only source of vision was the fireplace, which didn’t look like it would last much longer.

Kaito gave a little shriek, encouraging Angie to join in for fun. Kokichi laughs wickedly. “Iruma-chan and Momota-chan were so butthurt about losing they cut the power.”

”Shut up, twink! I didn’t have any time to make an invention like that!”

She could hear Shuichi sigh. ”So you would have, if you had time?”

”Everyone, please relax,” Kirumi calls, and in the dying embers she can see her raising her arms placatingly. “The power has just gone out. We can wait to see if this is just a technological failure, or we can manually reset the generator in the basement.”

”In the basement?” Rantarou snorts. “Sounds like the beginning of a horror movie. Maybe Ouma was right about that axe murderer.” 

“There are some candles and flashlights in the linen closets,” Kirumi continues. 

“No need!” Kiibo states proudly, as his eyes beam into bright light. Kaede closes her eyes quickly, though not enough for as colors burst harshly against her lids.

“G-give is a warning next time!”

“My apologies. But now we need not fret about the lights, and return to uno!”

”I think you’re plainly misreading the atmosphere,” Tsumugi says, pushing up her glasses. 

“Atua says we must restore the power before returning to uno.” Angie claims happily, Himiko taking advantage of the sudden darkness to take a nap.

Kaede stands up, pushing the quilt off and making her way to Kirumi. “I hope the power comes back by itself,” she says, feeling the chill run down her bare legs by the second. “But it probably wouldn’t hurt to look at the generator, right?” She carefully left out the part about her having an odd feeling, something in her gut telling her they needed to see it. 

Kirumi nods, and turns towards the lattice beneath the stairs. “I believe I was told the entrance was through here.” She tugs at the wood, but it stays firmly in place. 

Tenko shoots up instantly, makes her way over. “How dare you force Kaede-san and Tojo-san to do this themselves?!”

Gonta rushes over, as well as Kaito. “Gonta is sorry! Ungentlemanly to not use strength to help.” It was easily removed with the combination of the three of the strongest ultimates in their class. The entrance was fairly lackluster. It was a tiny hatch, too tiny for even her to consider entering. 

“That’s small as hell? Who’s fitting down there?”

”There is an outside entrance as well, if you would like to endure the cold.”

”Why don’t we make one of the pipsqueaks do it?” Miu says haughtily, jerking her chin towards Angie and Himiko. Before any of them could respond, Kokichi appears next to them out of nowhere.

”Oh, oh, pick me! Pick me, class rep, I’ll go!” Kaede rolls her eyes. _As if he’s actually asking. He’ll go whether we say yes or not, unless Gonta picks him up or something._

Instead, she asks, “how are you going to see down there?”

He holds up his cell phone and shakes it mockingly. “Just because yours is dead doesn’t mean everyone else’s is~” Kaede flinches slightly. How did he know her battery was gone? He continues before she has a chance to ask. “Hoshi would’ve fit in here pretty easily. Too bad we chased him off, huh?” And before anyone could respond, he quickly pulls open the hatch and scuttles away into the darkness. 

Kaito huffs, glaring at where Kokichi had last been. “Jerk. Maybe we should’ve sent Angie or Yumeno in.”

”No,” Shuichi sighs, and says quietly so the others can’t hear him, “Between the three of them, Ouma-kun is most likely to actually get the task done.”

 _Unless he decides to mess with us and hide away down there for a prank_ , she thinks. She wonders then, with the power out, how was she supposed to charge her phone and text Ryoma? She sighs, and moves carefully using Kiibo’s flashlight function to make her way back to her bags. She digs out her cell, subtly checking her it one more time and expecting nothing to show up but a dead battery symbol, yet feels her breath stutter when she sees her lock screen. Her _changed_ lock screen. 

It was three words, three measly little words, but they still made her heart race, fingers trembling from more than just cold.

**LEAVE THE CABIN**

...what?

As soon as she read it, her phone powered off in an instant, making her question whether she had truly seen it at all. _What was that? Is Ouma-kun playing a prank on me, is that why he knew my phone was near dead?_

She furrows her brows, looking around at the others carefully. Maki has migrated over to Kaito, and Tenko returned to doting on Himiko. Most of her classmates didn’t seem particularly affected by the dark, especially now with Kiibo’s lights that Miu was fawning over. The only ones who had been near her bag, as far as she knew, were Shuichi, Gonta, Kirumi, and Rantarou, just from seating positions. She tries to calm down, telling herself that maybe she’s just getting pranked in return for last time. She certainly deserved it, and it wasn’t that bad. Just a little fear, is all. 

She then frowns harder, realizing that she’s sitting here doubting her friends. Maybe she had just gotten some spam text from a wrong number, and mistaken it as a background. _But how would a wrong number know you were in a cabin?_

Kaede spends so long lost in her thoughts, tapping a finger to her cheek and trying to convince herself that she’s overreacting again, that maybe she should’ve asked Kirumi for tea to calm her, that maybe she should just wisen up and _ask_ if any of her friends are messing with her, but she can’t bring herself to just yet. And when Kokichi suddenly throws open the hatch again, she’s just as startled as the rest of them. 

“Power’s cut,” Kokichi says bluntly.

”What are you talking about?” Kaito asks after a brief silence. Shuichi stands next to him, instantly going into detective mode and thinking hard with a hand to his mouth.

”Are you deaf? I just said the power’s cut.”

”Cut,” Shuichi says slowly. “As in... by an animal?”

”An animal,” he looks at his nails, disinterested. “Or a person. The wire was cut pretty cleanly. Maybe it was Harukawa-chan, and she’s gonna take the opportunity to finally kill us all!”

”I’ll definitely kill you.” 

“Are you lying, Ouma-kun,” Kaede whispers carefully, though her intuition knows better. Somehow, she just _knows_ he’s telling the truth, and the stone in her stomach sinks further when she recalls the feeling of being watched.

”That could explain why it shut off so suddenly,” Korekiyo closes his eyes. “A rat could’ve eaten through the wire.”

”How do we know the little shit’s not lying?” Miu points out. “Maybe he just wants to stay in the dark, or cut it himself like the freak he is.”

”You’re right, I did cut the power, just so that I wouldn’t have to look at that hideous thing you call a face any longer.”

”H-hey!” Miu whimpers in return. 

Kaede sighs and decides to ignore them. “We can send someone else down there with a flashlight to make sure Ouma-kun is telling the truth.”

And they did. Angie, as they worried Himiko would take a nap down there and never return, ventured down into the darkness and calling for Atua to be her guiding light. She, to Kaede’s chargrin, returned with the same news.

”Yep!” She shows the picture she had taken of it. Sure enough, Kaede could see the hulking generator, as well as the several wires alongside it that had been sliced with barely any fraying. That made her wonder if they could truly write it off as a rodent chewing through the structure. Shuichi, if the look in his eye was any indication, had the same idea.

”Tojo-san, is this the only generator?”

”No,” she responds hesitantly. “However, the other generator is much further down the mountain, as it’s only supposed to be a backup.” Shuichi hums, clearly deep in thought still. “Are you alright, Saihara-kun?”

”Is there a path straight to the generator? I think I want to check it out and see if it was perhaps cut in the same way.” The occupants in the lodge seemed to tense in sync, and Shuichi realized his mistake, pulling down his hat hastily. “I just mean—to figure out if someone is pranking us, or if it really is a small animal, or something...”

Kaito thumps Shuichi hard on the back, making him yelp. “Nice idea, sidekick! If the other generator isn’t gnawed through, we can turn it back on. If it is, we’ll know someone’s messing with us,” he made eyes at Kokichi, who stuck his tongue out in return, “cause it’d be too convenient for both of them to be eaten up.”

”You want to go right now?” Tsumugi tilts her head. “I plainly don’t think it’s safe to travel by yourself at night in the snow. Oh, unless you can use your bending to keep warm!”

”I agree,” Kiibo says, flashlight eyes still blinding most of the room. “We can wait until morning. I don’t mind keeping up these lights until then.”

”Are you going to follow everyone to their rooms and the bathrooms all night long to give them light, then?” Tenko hisses, giving Kiibo a stink eye. 

Kiibo deflates. “I suppose that wouldn’t be very convenient. We still have flashlights and candles, though..”

”I think it’s important to figure out what’s going on with the generators sooner rather than later,” Shuichi states firmly, in the way he gets only when he’s intent on solving a mystery. 

“Maybe the axe murderer is luring you out by cutting off the power!”

“S-stop trying to scare us Ouma! It’s not working.”

”Don’t be such a bad liar, Momota-chan. Think about it... an axe wielding maniac, versus two poor kids-“

”We’re Ultimates, dammit. Even if there is anyone there, we can take ‘em, right Shuichi!”

”Uh, sure... I really think we’re exaggerating, though. It probably is just a prank or coincidence.”

”But just the two of you?” Rantarou spoke up. “That still seems a little dangerous.” 

“Well, anyone else wanna go and investigate with us?” Kaito looks around, hands on hips.

”Yeah!” Kaede says, catching onto Kaito’s infectious energy and speaking before her brain can catch up. “Three heads are better than two.”

”Hell yeah!” He holds up his hand for a high five. Before she could reciprocate, she notices Maki, out of the corner of her eye, been about to say something, if the way she stared intensely at Kaede was any indication.

Well, she had gotten that really weird note on her phone addressed to her specifically. She had assumed it was just Kokichi or someone messing with her, but... was that all? Even so, was she really going to let some random text message punk her into leaving? Who even knows if the person is being serious—maybe they’re trying to make her leave so they can mess with her even more outside.

“Uh,” she hesitates, staring between Kaito’s grinning face, Shuichi’s hopeful eyes and Maki's almost imploring glare, Kaede breathes out heavily and decides to...

**a) Leave the cabin. Go with Shuichi and Kaito to the second generator.**

**b) Stay in the cabin. Let Maki go with Shuichi and Kaito.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one was a little dialogue heavy, as uno tends to be, but fear not.  
> the gang is about to start branching out from each other... though who goes with whom and where is important...  
> groups being broken up mean different ppl getting to be in the limelight too ;)


	3. down in the forest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> was debating posting this in the afternoon or just saying f it and doing it now at 1am... yay for no self control?

“Actually,” **Kaede** winces as she pulls her hand back down. “Maybe I shouldn’t go. If there is actually a wild animal or something, I won’t be much help.”  _Wow, that wasn’t very smooth_... She decides it was probably smarter to let Maki go when she clearly wanted to. With Maki and Kaito’s strength combined, Shuichi was sure to remain unharmed. She might have volunteered to go along, with all four of them, but she and Maki had an... _interesting_ relationship, to say the least.

“That’s all the more reason no one should go,” Kirumi puts a hand to her head, looking stern behind her professional persona.

“Damn, Kaede,” Kaito grimaces slightly as he puts down his hand for the high five she never reciprocated. “Didn’t have to leave me hanging, you know.”

“Sorry!” She responds hastily, but Kirumi interrupts before she can try and high five him. _Guess you’re left hanging today... sorry, Kaito._

“Akamatsu-san, surely if you’re so worried that you don’t want to go, you think it’s too dangerous for them as well, yes? It’s getting darker by the minute.”

“I can go,” Maki says quietly, and Kaede can’t read her well enough to know the look in her eyes. Maki was protection in and of herself, at least when it came to Kaito.

“Yeah!” Kaito grins, reinvigorated. “There’s nothing out there me and my sidekicks can’t handle! We’ll have plenty of light beneath the stars, Tojo.”

“Is there anything dangerous on the mountain?” Shuichi questions lightly.

“No,” Kirumi backtracks. “There shouldn’t be. I can’t imagine Hope’s Peak would send us somewhere unsafe.” 

“Then we have nothing to worry about.” Kaito grins. 

“Maybe  you don’t,” Miu complains, “you three are gonna be too busy getting it on in the woods to turn the power back on.”

“Do you want die?”

“I know you can take care of yourself, but having Harukawa-san go alone with two boys is unsavory either way,” Tenko frets. She glares at the two who give immediate protest.

“Yeah, flat chest’s gonna get _taken care of_ alright,” Miu adds, leering.

“Ignore her,” Kaede says quickly before Maki can respond, not wanting those three to get into it and not specifying which  her should be ignored.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” Kirumi insists. “You have your phones charged in case you get lost and need our help?”

”Gonta can come for protection?”

”I can lend you some of my mana once I recharge.”

“Ah, that’s okay, Gonta-kun, Yumeno-san. We should be just fine. It won’t be anymore dangerous than trying to find a pet alligator,” Shuichi smiles awkwardly, referring to one of his earlier cases as a detective. Kirumi didn’t seem reassured by the joke.

”What’s the worst that could happen?” Rantarou scratches his head. “A stray deer?”

”Hey, those things can be deadly,” Kokichi speaks up. “Did you know more people are killed by deer than sharks?”

”That’s gotta be a lie!”

“Do not worry!” Angie smiles pleasantly as she spreads her arms out. “Atua says you will have a safe journey.”

“The longer we chitchat here, the more time we’ll waste,” Maki sighs, tapping her foot. Kaede assumes Maki‘s eagerness to leave was to both spend time with Kaito and get away from most of them, but she kept it to herself.

“Harumaki’s right! We’re losing moonlight here.”

“I think you have the saying backwards,” Tsumugi says obviously.

“I trust you three,” Kirumi acquiesced. “Please text someone when you reach the generator.”

”Don’t get eaten by polar bears!”

”Shut it, Ouma! We wouldn’t get eaten by a damn bear.”

” _That’s_ what you take issue with?” Kiibo frowns. 

“Polar bears in Japan would be interesting,” Korekiyo chuckles. Kaede thinks they have gotten off track very, very fast, as her class tends to do. Staying on track would make even someone with the ultimate patience weep.

Kaede, Kirumi and a few others stand outside to see the trio off, watching their flashlights disappear down the trail. Kaede gets a strange feeling of being watched again, but writes it off as one of her classmates in the cabin staring from the window. 

“Akamatsu-san,” Kirumi looks over her worriedly. “You’re shaking.”

”Oh, yeah,” she smiles crookedly. “I still haven’t changed out of this skirt... not very compatible with the snow, that’s for sure.” Sensing Kirumi about to enter mother hen mode, she hastily adds, “I’ll feel better once I get back inside.”

”I will make you more hot chocolate.” She insists anyway.

”No, no, that’s okay! I still have some leftover. Really, I’m okay.”

“I can simply reheat it,” Kirumi insists. Kaede then realizes that she’s probably worried about the trio going out in the dark, despite the fact that Maki could probably take down a bear herself, and is trying to keep herself occupied. 

“Okay. I’ll come with you.”

Hanging out with Kirumi and Tsumugi was pretty calming. She was mostly just watching, as she was still unfortunately banned from using kitchens as a whole, as just a helper or otherwise—piano skills didn’t translate well to cooking, many had found out the hard way. Kirumi was making nachos on Miu’s request, and Tsumugi was handing her ingredients. They were working by candlelight and Kiibo.

Tsumugi and Kaede were taking up most of the silence, the former regarding some obscure references while the latter pretended to keep up. Eventually, she learned it was better to smile and nod rather than question what Tsumugi was explaining. Kirumi kept herself diligently busy, carefully allowing Kaede the task of arranging the tortilla chips under strict supervision. Kaede wanted to be offended, but she knew somehow, she could end up destroying the whole lodge just by existing in the kitchen. _That’s probably what I get for being too scared to be near any type of cooking as a kid... too scared of my fingers being hurt._

”I hope I am not merely just a stove to you,” Kiibo pouts, holding the cheese in an extra compartment that Miu added that could be used as a stove. Why she did it is anybody’s guess, as with most things she does.

”Of course not!” Kaede smiles. “You’re our friend. The stove is just a bonus.”

“Kiibo-kun,” Tsumugi tilts her head. “Have you ever considered going on a cooking show? You have all the right applications for it.”

”Despite these extra abilities, I am not better at preparing food than Akamatsu-san.” _Okay, they don’t have to rub it in._

”Oh, that’s a shame. What about you?” The cosplayer turns to Kirumi. “You might win food wars easily.”

”Thank you, but I don't think it would be very fair.”

”That’s true... an Ultimate against normal people... It would be as unfair as a normal esper fighting Mob!”

Despite not getting the reference, Kaede felt a little uncomfortable with where the conversation was going, so she tried to change the subject. “Have you guys gotten weird messages on your phones?” 

The other occupants gave her a strange look. _Very subtle of me_ , she thinks. She hadn’t even meant to blurt it out—it was pure impulse. 

“Strange message?” Kirumi pipes up. “Are you receiving spam texts?”

Kiibo nods to her reassuringly. ”I believe Iruma-san knows a talented programmer who could help you with that.”

”No, not a text,” she continues hesitantly. She should be sharing this with them? She didn’t want to cause any worry. “It was probably just a joke.”

”What did it say?” Tsumugi looks disturbingly eager. “Don’t tell me it’s a diary entry about what will happen in the future?!”

”Um, I don’t think so? It just told me to leave...” _Crap, I think I said too much_.

”Leave?” Kirumi frowns. 

“Yeah, to leave the cabin,” she sighs out, knowing there was no use hiding it. “I’m sure it was just a dumb joke.”

”May I see it?”

”Oh, I can’t... my phone died right afterwards.” Damn, she keeps forgetting. She really needs to text Hoshi before she went to bed. She wants to give him plenty of time to change his mind and join them.

”I believe Iruma-san brought a portable charger!” Kiibo announces proudly. “She built it herself, actually.”

”Can’t I just hook my phone up to you?” She jokes lightly, already anticipating his reaction.

”Akamatsu-san! Even though you could, that doesn’t mean you should. Charging things on me reduces from my own battery, and-“

Angie skips into the room before Kaede can tell him she’s messing with him. “Nyahaha, Atua told me you would be in here. I was sent on behalf of Iruma!”

”I see,” Kirumi nods. “Please tell her the nachos will be done shortly.”

”O-kay,” she drawls happily. Suddenly, she pulls up a small needle. “By the way, would any of you like to sacrifice blood to Atua with us?”

”Did you really bring that stuff here?” Kaede exclaims before she can stop herself. Really, she doesn’t know why she’s so surprised. It’s _Angie_. Honestly, it might be more worrying if she didn’t.

”Yep yep! There’s never a bad time to show Atua our devotion, even on vacation!”

”Isn’t that dangerous?” Kiibo asks. “How can you draw blood safely in the dark?”

”We’re doing it outside on the balcony! The moonlight will guide us,” Angie hops eagerly, that last part sounding a little too similar to Kaito. 

“Who exactly is this ‘we’ you speak of?”

”Gonta, Himiko, Tenko and Shinguuji! Would you like to join?” Well, the first two weren’t too hard to sway, but she’s a little shocked to hear the last two said yes. She just figures Tenko was following Himiko, and Korekiyo was just interested in learning about the culture. Tsumugi agrees pretty readily, which is also unsurprising. Kirumi denies the offer as well when Angie states it wasn’t a request, something about Atua wanting willing blood sacrifices only. Kiibo simply had no blood to sacrifice.

”I’ll think about it,” Kaede tries for a smile and knows it comes off awkward. Angie takes it in stride, luckily, and skips off with Shirogane in tow.

”Thank you, Kiibo-kun,” Kirumi smiles gratefully, taking the cheese from his mini stove and lathering it elegantly on the tortilla chips. Kaede didn’t even know it was possible to spread cheese elegantly. “I hope the power comes back soon.” She steps into the living room with the food carefully held, and frowns at the carelessly discarded uno cards littering the floor. 

“I know that look,” Kaede teases. “I can help you clean this up. We can ask the others too—everyone contributed to the mess.”

”I doubt everyone will be willing to clean up regardless,” Kirumi chuckles, and _yeah, she certainly has a point._ “I will be fine cleaning up by myself, but thank you for the offer. I have something else I would like to do as well.”

”I can stay with you and give you light,” Kiibo offers. “It would be better than trying to navigate by candlelight, or have one hand occupied with a flashlight.“

Kirumi hesitates for a second, before nodding her head. “I would appreciate that very much.”

Kaede follows them up the stairs, but stops once they reach the top. Kirumi and Kiibo go straight towards the the trio of Miu, Rantarou and Kokichi sitting on the second floor landing.

Kaede could ask Miu for her charger, and also ask if Kokichi was trying to prank her. She would be asking him without any real evidence outside of him being a prankster, but she’d have a little more piece of mind if she found out he was just messing with her. Though there was no telling if she would even get a straight answer.

Angie was on the balcony with Tsumugi, Korekiyo, Himiko, Tenko, and Gonta, taking blood sacrifices under the moon. She didn’t necessarily want to give her blood, but she could just sit outside and talk to them. Maybe one of them was behind the message.

The bathroom was free, however. She could light some candles and enjoy some time to herself. Maybe she could even ask Miu for her portable charger, so she could come back to her phone charged. Relaxing in the bath would help calm her down as well, and she could change her clothes.

**a) ask Kokichi if he took the ski lift paper and put the ominous message on her phone, and get Miu’s charger.  
**

**b) supervise the blood sacrifice Angie is hosting on the balcony.**

**c) take a nice bath and change into something warmer, and get Miu’s charger.**

**Shuichi** looks down at the map, contemplative. “It’s not too bad. We just have to follow this trail towards the base of this hill.” He shines the flashlight towards it, still visible despite the snow. The cold isn’t horrible, but still unpleasant.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Kaito says, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself now that they were mostly in the dark. Kaito was still in his pajamas, which was probably a bad idea, but Shuichi doubted he would be convinced now. 

“You’re shivering,” Maki crosses her arms disapprovingly. 

“What? No, this is nothing. A little chill isn’t enough to stop the Luminary of the Stars.” Without waiting for a response, he marches forward confidently, taking the left path.

“...that’s the path to get to the lake, Momota-kun,” Shuichi has to bite back a smile. “Unless you want to go ice skating right now instead?” 

“I-I knew that! I was testing you, and you passed, good job, Shuichi.”

Shuichi shakes his head good-naturedly, as Kaito quickly changes course to the right path. 

He wants to check out the other generator to confirm his suspicions that someone cut the power with purpose, rather than some rodent. In the picture Angie showed, the wires cut were clean—as if they had been sliced with care and something sharp rather than a careless animal. If the cabin didn’t have power from the backup power source down the mountainside, then both had to have been cut. It felt a little too convenient for his tastes. It might be just a simple prank—but something about that felt incorrect.

The path eventually leads to a small woods, just like the map said. Nothing too big, and all the trees were pretty spaced out, but the trees did block off some of the moonlight. Luckily they all had flashlights.

He doesn’t know how he feels about being back just yet—while it’s nice to spend time outdoors, every time they do something as a class, it ends in pure disaster. That was just the cost of sixteen ultimates with extravagant personalities each. None of the normal incidents the class got into—like getting caught stealing a police car, sky diving without a parachute—held a candle to what went down during the last class vacation. He was surprised Rantarou and Kaede has forgiven him so easily. He certainly didn’t feel like he deserved it.

”So you think someone’s pranking us, huh?” Kaito questions, breaking Shuichi out of his spiraling thoughts with his clear voice. “But no one’s been alone yet—far as I know, at least. And only a few of us could actually fit in that tiny area to actually cut it.”

”Only through the house entrance,” Shuichi hums. “Tojo-san said there was another way to get in through the outside, like a basement or cellar.”

”Even so, the only people I could see pranking us by cutting the power would be one of the tiny terrors”—Kokichi and Angie—“but they’d have to suffer too, cause the heating turned off.”

”Also like you said, no one has been alone yet. Angie-san came with Yumeno-san and Chabashira-san, and Ouma-kun arrived with Tojo-san herself. So if the other generator _has_ been cut, it’s doubtful they could’ve been behind it.”

“Didn’t Iruma come early, though?” Maki adds idly, glancing around at the surrounding trees warily. 

“Yeah,” Kaito returns, scratching his goatee. “I don’t know why she would’ve fucked with it, though... to show off improvements to Kiibo’s flashlight function?”

”She could’ve done that without _cutting_ the power,” Shuichi argues lightly. “Even so, the generator in the basement or the one down here had to have been cut while we were all together playing. I also really just want to know why it was cut, rather than just shut off or something.” 

“So if it happened while we were playing... you think someone... broke in?” Kaito looked alarmed. “Just to cut the power?!”

“No, nothing that drastic!” Shuichi panics, but now he can’t stop thinking about it. “The one in the basement might have already been cut...” Now he’s worried. He can’t believe he ignored the possibility of someone breaking in.

“Hey, you should sound more confident in your theories!”

At first, he was mostly thinking that one of the tiny terrors had found a way to rope Ryoma into a prank—have him text Kirumi that he wasn’t coming, only for him to cut the power and pop up later. He didn’t want to entertain the idea of a burglar—assuming that last time had brought about a load of trouble. But now that Kaito has mentioned it... _could_ someone had broke in through the outside without anyone hearing? Or had someone been waiting down there the whole time, just waiting for-

“ _Stop_!” Maki hisses, sharp and urgent, just about the loudest he’s ever heard her be. 

Shuichi freezes without a second thought, and sees Kaito do the same. Maki rushes forward, staring at something in the snow, sighing with barely hidden relief. 

“What’s wrong?” Kaito stares at her with widened eyes. 

Maki glares at him. “You were about to walk into a bear trap.” 

Shuichi feels something odd run up his spine, a feeling he can’t place a name to, as he turns back to the path to see where she’s looking. Lo and behold, about three steps ahead of Kaito is the trap, only visible due to the teeth poking out of the snow, reflecting the moonlight. 

“Shit,” Kaito breathes, and Shuichi repeats the sentiment internally. If Maki’s trained eyes hadn’t seen it... if Kaito had stepped in the bear trap... “You really saved my ass there. Or my foot, I guess.” He turns back to her with a grin and his classic thumbs up. “Thanks! Way to go, Harumaki.” _Was he genuinely unbothered by almost getting his foot trapped, or is he just trying to stop us from worrying?_

Maki gives him an unimpressed look. “...pay more attention. There might be more.” 

“Why would there be bear traps  _on_ the path, rather than just nearby?” Shuichi wonders out loud as his heart slows down. “That seems like an accident waiting to happen.”  And almost as if waiting for him to say that, there’s the sound of something splashing loudly in the distance. They all freeze. 

A little ways off from the path, nearly hidden behind a cluster of trees, is a rickety grey shed. There’s a small pond next to it, the water rippling steadily from whatever just dropped in it. He feels the hairs on the back of his neck raise. Maki felt it too, based on the way her stance lowers and her glare toward the shed.

”Hey!” Kaito yells suddenly. “Who’s over there?”

”Are you crazy?” Maki hisses. “We just lost the chance of surprise.”

“Don’t you feel something watching us? They probably know we’re here. Hey, come out here, coward!” 

Nothing happens, of course. The pond eventually stills, and the air stays quiet. Too quiet. Maki relaxes slightly, though her hand stays close to the thigh she has a knife holstered, _just in case_. She had long since been trying to slowly leave behind her life of assassination, starting with busting her old orphanage, but old habits die hard.

Shuichi could see an outline of something in the water. They weren’t close enough to tell what it was, but it was _just_ hovering beneath the surface.

“Guess it was just some turtle, or something?”

”A turtle, in the middle of the snowy woods on a mountain?” Maki deadpans. 

“It’s not impossible! Nothing is!”

”Guys,” Shuichi interrupts hesitantly. They were wasting time debating. He stares hard at the shed. The lights inside were off. “Let’s just...”

**a) ignore the object in the pond and the shed. just follow the trail and get to the generator.**

**b) take a small detour to check out the shed and pond, then go to the generator.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just in case you don’t remember kaede’s choices/don’t want to scroll for them :  
> a) ask Kokichi if he took the ski lift paper and put the ominous message on her phone and get Miu’s charger  
> b) supervise the blood sacrifice Angie is hosting on the balcony.  
> c) take a bath and change into something warmer and get Miu’s charger
> 
> thank you guys lots for your nice comments—they inspire me to try & keep updating once a week :) !
> 
> please tell me which character you’re voting for–like kaede c, shuichi a, or something along those lines.  
> i’m just trying this out to see if multiple options/perspectives in a chapter is better than just one.


	4. bait

“Let’s just take a look at it,”  **Shuichi** offers. “That way we can see for ourselves what happened over there, and deal with it. Um, if that’s okay with you both.”

Kaito grins approvingly. “Hell yeah! We can deal with some animal, and it won’t take that long.”

Maki sighs, but gives no vocal objections as they stray from the path. Though she does take the initiative to place herself in front. They took more care this to me, watching where they walked cautiously, the minor scare from Kaito nearly losing his foot on running through their minds. Despite wanting to spend time with Kaede too, Shuichi was really, really glad Maki was here. She certainly made walking through the woods at night less terrifying. Kaito, too, had his own way of pushing away Shuichi’s fears. He knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help but feel inadequate in comparison. He was supposed to be a detective, yet he was so unaware of his surroundings that he missed a bear trap? He subconsciously tugs his hat down farther, glad that the others were in front of him so they wouldn’t notice. 

Up close, they can see the shed and pond more clearly. Shuichi frowns when he looks at the ground.

Maki says his thoughts for him. “There’s only one track of footprints.” The ground is thoroughly covered in snow—it’s impossible to not leave tracks. Yet there was only one, leading straight for the shed.

“So they’re still over here,” Kaito states. “Hiding in that shack like a coward.”

“...we should be very careful,” Shuichi breathes, a small bit of fear overtaking. He knows logically there’s not much to fear—anyone trying to go against someone as strong as Maki was sure to be disappointed, let alone Maki  and Kaito. “We have no idea who or what that is.”

“Whoever it is, they tossed this in the water.” Maki steps forward, pressing one foot against a surfaced boulder to lean over the pond and pick up the box. It’s soaked, obviously, though not as much as it would’ve had it remained ignored. She tosses it in front of them unceremoniously, and it lands with a pathetic splat. The water must be freezing, but she gives no indication of chill, simply wiping her hand off on her pants.

“Nice, Harumaki!” Kaito encourages. Maki doesn’t respond, attention now wholly focused on the shed. “Who the hell drops a box in  _water_? That’s just askin’ for it to fall apart.” He crouches down to open it anyways. Shuichi doubts anything dangerous was inside, as it would have to be waterproof. He feels tense regardless.

Inside the box were wet documents—fortunately, not so soaked that the words were completely illegible, but enough so that they threatened to fall apart. 

Unfortunately, they could still clearly understand what they were looking at. 

“What the fuck?” Kaito grimaces, holding them closer to his face. 

Shuichi recognized the documents immediately. A noise complaint form, dated back four months ago in September. The noise complaint that had been made against them the first time they’d tried to vacation as a class.

“Hold on a minute,” Shuichi’s eyes widen as he notices he other documents. Behind the complaint are specific fines. One for Momota Kaito, another for Saihara Shuichi, and the final—

“Akamatsu-san?” Shuichi was heavily uncomfortable with his and Kaito’s being here, a reminder of their misdeeds. He felt a rush of guilt. Someone obviously knew they were coming out here, and had been able to get ahold of undisclosed files to taunt them. Something tells Shuichi it’s not one of his classmates. 

_But why was Kaede’s here, rather than Maki’s?_

“How the hell’s this here?” Kaito shivers. He’s still very cold, Shuichi worries internally. While he did have his infamous purple galaxy jacket, beneath it he only had pajamas against the snow. Not to mention he only had one arm through his sleeve, which was certainly not helping his chill. “Didn’t all these get waived?”

“Yes,” Maki glares at the papers coldly, as if trying to melt them faster than the surrounding snow. Hope’s Peak had waived all their fines and documents, preventing anyone’s permanent record getting a mark. Not that it would really matter—anyone who went to Hope’s Peak was pretty much set for life anyways, regardless of the trouble they got into—but it was still important to them. Shuichi remembers Gonta in particular panicking the most.

“We’re being toyed with,” Shuichi assumes. “The way the generator was cut purposefully, how this was tossed into the water as we just so happened to pass-“

“And these papers,” Kaito adds on excitedly despite his shivering. “No way the two of us had papers in here by chance.”

“Right. And Akamatsu-san was about to volunteer to leave with us at first.” That’s why she was there, he realizes. Kaede accidentally threw a wrench in the plan by suddenly choosing not to go. 

“All of this is strange,” Maki says, now staring at Kaito’s trembling figure. “But what we really should be figuring out is who and why.” 

“Well,” Kaito grins, pounding his fists together. The growing numbness of them makes him grimace slightly, though he doesn’t complain once. “I guess we gotta go question whoever’s hiding in there, right Shuichi?” He jerks his chin towards the shes, which has remained suspiciously quiet the whole time. 

Shuichi knows it could be dangerous to walk into such a small space if it truly wasn’t one of his friends like he assumed, but the detective side of him refused to rest until he investigated everything here, and agrees firmly.

After a small yet stubborn back and forth, they finally settled on Kaito opening the door but letting Maki enter first, both insisting they were the best prepared to lead into a potentially dangerous situation with Maki eventually “winning” with a casual mention of an axe murderer freaking Kaito out. Shuichi had been sure to take the wet documents with him, even if they might just end up breaking apart in his pocket. He wants to feel a little more useful, considering he can’t protect like those two. He shakes his head, trying to push those thoughts away.

The inside was unsettling. Cobwebs making a home in every corner, things like shovels and rakes lying sadly on the floor in no kind of order. Shuichi felt an odd itch to tidy it up. 

Every single shelf was covered in memorabilia of the same bear depicted in the cabin’s paintings. Monochrome with a jagged red eye, each one seemed to stare at them giddily. No one was inside. There were no windows, no way for anyone to leave except for the door. The air is so stale it’s nearly stifling.

Shuichi picks up a bobble head of the black and white bear. _How hideous_. It filled him with a strong sense of dislike for reasons unknown to him.

“Did we look at them wrong?” Kaito speaks out eventually. “Maybe the footprints were leading away from the cabin?”

“There still should’ve been two sets, then,” Maki shakes her head, still not entirely at ease.

“Maybe they were sitting in here for a long time waiting for us,” Kaito insists, “and the snow covered up the first set.”

“Where were they going, then?” Shuichi wonders aloud. “To hide nearby?” But even as he says it, another realization washes over them.

“ _The cabin_.”

“We gotta go for them!” Kaito huffs. “You and Maki think this person’s dangerous, right? What if they reach the cabin and pull something more than cutting off power now that we separated?!”

”If they’re going through all this effort, the could be dangerous,” Maki hums.

“We need to check quickly!” Shuichi argues back. “If the generator is not cut, we can turn it on and give them light back. If they really did go to the cabin, we’re far behind them. We’d be better help if we can turn on the generator then if we come five minutes after they’ve broken in.”

“ _If_ the generator isn’t cut,” Kaito stays firm. “You wanted to investigate because you thought it was, right? Don’t change your mind now!”

“Chabashira and Gokuhara are there as well,” Maki adds in softly, a neutral party. “Even taken by surprise, they could likely neutralize a threat quickly.”

“We’ll be quick,” Shuichi continues to persuade. “We can run all the way to the generator and back to the cabin.” Well, Shuichi wasn’t entirely sure he could actually run that whole time—even with the training Kaito insisted on, he was still far behind both of them in endurance. 

Kaito exhales hard, and after a few moments of silence acquiesces. Shuichi feels a little worse when he noticed how much Kaito is still shaking. They needed to speed things along.

It seemed too easy.   


They didn’t run into anything else down the hill.

The generator was completely intact. Merely unplugged. 

“Huh,” Kaito says in wonder, surprised to see it uncut. Shuichi would agree verbally if he could breathe. Running ate up a lot of time, along with a lot of his energy. Kaito had pulled out his phone just before they departed from the shed, texting Kirumi to lookout for anyone lurking near the cabin. The lack of response made him frustrated, and only calmed down after running. Maybe it brought more heat to his system.

”I was wrong then,” Shuichi huffs out, a little disappointed. “They aren’t both cut. Sorry.”

”Don’t apologize, man! You were right about coming here first. We can turn on the power real quick and get back to the others.”

”Right, Momota-kun. I can’t believe the cable is so long, though. Don’t generators actually have to be plugged into the house?”

”I guess the extension cable is super long? I mean, whoever owns this place has all those weird bear decorations. They’re obviously strange.”

Shuichi wonders if whoever cut the power and tossed the papers in the pond were the owners of the lodge. It was rented out, after all. 

Regardless, he can see the generator is relatively unharmed. It’s sitting innocently on a patch of grass, leaves and sticks. There was barely any snow on it. He unfortunately had no clue how generators really worked—maybe its surroundings needed to be cleared regularly? “We just need to hook it back up then?”

”Leave it to the hero!” Kaito grins confidently as he strides forward. The other two follow him with twin looks of fond exasperation. “I’ve worked these kinds a whole bunch.”

“You’re going to electrocute yourself,” Maki sighs, but makes no move to stop him until several things occur at once.

Loud footsteps are heard nearby, moving quickly and with purpose. Running. The foliage back near the path is shifting. Were they tracked without her realizing? She wants to turn her attention to it, ready to strike out and defend, when something else clicks in her mind just a second too late.

Why was the generator on a tiny clearing?

 **Maki** hisses sharply, words unable to come out but eyes fixated on Kaito  as the ground begins to give away with a dragging noise. Her thoughts kick into overdrive as the world almost seems to drop into slow motion.

It’s a booby trap, one designed to drop beneath you once your weight was on it. They were about to step on it. 

She doesn’t know if she can stop both of them at this point, too focused on the threat looping around them to notice the threat right in front of them. Kaito and Shuichi have their attention draw to the sound, but still moving forward and too close to avoid the fall now. _I’ve grown too complacent_ , she thinks frantically. _God damn it, why?_

She feels time begin to speed up again, and knows she must act quickly and practically. There is no room for emotion. There was something coming near them. They were about to fall. There could be spikes at the bottom. There might not. It could be a deer or any other animal. It might not. It could be whoever was near the shed. She takes a deep breath, focusing hard, and makes a split second decision.

**a) try to save Kaito from running into the trap. Shuichi will fall.**

**b) try to save Shuichi from running into the trap. Kaito will fall.**

**c) focus only on protecting against who or whatever is running at them. Both fall.**

**d) try to split attention to save both. Whatever is approaching will have nothing stopping them.**

_________

**Kaede** makes her decision pretty quickly. Of course the best option for her would be to ask Miu to charge her phone. She would need to deal with getting tag teamed by Miu and Kokichi at the same time, but it would be worth it to finally get her battery back and text Hoshi. She could also sate some of her curiosities.

Walking over with Kirumi as she delivers the nachos, Kaede takes a seat next to Miu on the floor. The girl in question is plopped down on a bean bag, man spreading without a care in the world. Kokichi is sitting on a chair behind her, pulling at her hair though not painfully. They’re bickering like usual, with Rantarou leaning against the wall playing devil’s advocate.

“Well look who it is!” The inventor cackles. “Bakamatsu Kiibo and Hoejo! What were you three getting up to down there, huh?”

“Actually, Shirogane and Angie were down with us at some point too,” Kiibo corrects, very unhelpfully.

“A fivesome, huh? Didn’t think you virgins had it in you. I’m sure it sucked without me there.”

“Something would’ve sucked alright,” Kokichi snickers. “You would be on your knees in a heartbeat.”

Miu blushes. “T-there’s nothing wrong with that...”

Kirumi pointedly ignores the rude nickname, placing the food on the folding table in the center of the landing.

”Thanks, Tojo,” Rantarou smiles easily. “Looks good.” Kirumi smiles back, insisting it was no big deal. 

Miu tosses a chip in her mouth, then proceeds to freak out at the heat. “Shit! That’s hotter than me on a Friday night.”

”Must be ice cold,” Kokichi tugs on her hair more.

”That’s still hotter than you, twink!” 

Kiibo frowns. “They are not cold. I helped melt the cheese myself.” He tacks on that part proudly.

“Hey, Ouma-kun,” Kaede starts, not wanting to let this completely get off track. “If I ask you a question, can you give me a straight answer?”

“As if he can give a straight anything,” Miu cackles. Kaede has to hold back a sigh. It would be difficult to ask anything to Kokichi by himself, let alone with Miu. At least Rantarou was a saving grace.

“Was she talking to _you_ , bitchlet? Keep your snotty nose in your own business.” Miu flinches at his words, putting a hand to her face to find that her nose was running from the chill, and hastily wipes it off on her sleeve. _Gross_.

“Ouma-kun!” Kaede admonishes, despite them always acting like this and it successfully silencing Miu, if only briefly. “You shouldn’t talk to your friends that way.”

“It’s a good thing we aren’t friends, then! An evil tyrant like me has no need for friends when I have all the servants in the world, like mom.”

“Please stop calling me mom,” Kirumi requests fruitlessly, as she begins to leave, taking Kiibo the Flashlight with her. Kaede had to admit she had called the other mom multiple times before, mostly on accident. 

“Okay, mother dearest!” 

“Didn’t you have something to ask, Kaede?” Rantarou cuts in quickly, knowing this could go on forever. Kaede shoots him a grateful look, which he reciprocates with a casual nod. She can’t help but notice he keeps looking through the window.

“Yes, um...” She was planning on asking them all together, but knows that Miu would be likely to interrupt, which would spark Kokichi into making fun of her and they wouldn’t get anywhere. “First, actually, Iruma-san, do you happen to have your portable charger?”

“You mean the sexy charger I made myself? Hell yeah I do. Modified the normie version so that your phone charges fully in five minutes flat!”

“Wouldn’t it be simpler to make one that charges your phone in an instant?” Kaede asks thoughtlessly, wincing as Miu stomps her foot and nearly overturns the nachos before Rantarou catches them with a hiss.

“No, it wouldn’t! Something like that would destroy a battery! Too much juice at once would make the best battery blow its load. Figures you’d say something dumb like that, flat tits.”

“Right,” Kaede presses her lips together. Some of her classmates were harder to handle than others by a long shot. “Sorry I asked, but you don’t have to insult me. You could’ve said no and left it at that. Can I use it or not.”

“ _Ooooh_ , you made her _mad_ ,” Kokichi sings. Rantarou shakes his head.

Miu wilts. “H-hey, you don’t have to look so annoyed... I’ll let you use it for free, j-just stop glarin’ at me...”

“Thank you,” she sighs, handing her phone over. Miu takes it shyly, rummaging through her bag. She wasn’t really _that_ mad. Annoyed at most. She learned not to take much of what Miu said to heart. It was just how she was.

“Is that all you needed?” Rantarou asks. “You can hang out here if you’d like. Tojo’s cooking is really good, even though she had to do it on Kiibo.” Miu snorts loudly at the last part, clearly about to retort on the accidental innuendo when Kokichi likens the sound to a pig.

She lets them duke it out as she focuses on Rantarou. “Anything interesting outside?”

He shakes his head. ”Not really. I just think the moon looks nicer than usual. It’s full and not hidden by clouds or pollution like usual.”

”Yeah,” she breathes softly. She had admired the view of the mountains from the lift, though hadn’t really put much thought into the moon. “It’s beautiful.” As she looks, for once she doesn’t see anything outside. No shadows moving quickly, no tracks in the snow. Just nature, and she wants to breathe it in all over again. _Wait... no tracks in the snow?_

”Can you flirt somewhere else?” Miu interrupts, startling Kaede. “I don’t want your cooties all over my nachos!”

”We aren’t flirting!” Kaede flushes, crossing her arms. She really wanted to get this over and done with.

” _Our_ nachos,” Rantarou says coolly as he eats them, making no comment about the flirting and looking Miu dead in the eye. She squawks angrily and begins marching towards him.

“Fight, fight, fight!” Kokichi cheers, and Kaede moves to tap his arm. He whirls around before she can, but she has his attention nonetheless. “Akamatsu-chan, are you trying to flirt with me too? How unfaithful.”

“I’m not—no, absolutely not!”

“W-why?! Do you think I’m ugly? How could you treat me like this! I’ll never be able to love again!” Kokichi begins to wail. Kaede frantically tries to shush him. She’s tired already.

Knowing they were only crocodile tears, she tries to get straight to the point. “Ouma-kun, have you been messing with me?”

Kokichi pouts, tears gone in a blink. “Aw, did you finally notice I rearranged all the pins in your hair?”

“Wha-“ Kaede reaches up before she thinks about it, and feels nothing out of ordinary. She huffs. “Please just tell me yes or no. You took the lift paper, right? And put the message on my phone?”

“Oh? I am a world-class thief. But shouldn’t you _know_ who’s texting you? Unless you’ve become illiterate towards everything outside of pianos.”

“No. You don’t read pianos anyways, you read notes.” While nowhere near fluent, she thinks she’s become more fluent in translating Kokichi’s theatrics, and decides to interpret the first part as a confession to taking the lift paper. “It wasn’t a text. It- my whole screen was changed. It told me to leave the cabin. Did you have anything to do with it?”

Kokichi still looks nonchalant, but Kaede can see his eyes narrow. “Wow, you have a secret admirer! Are they a piano freak like you?” 

“I don’t know who it is yet. It just told me to go. Are you...” she swallows, suddenly afraid to ask if he was involved.

“When did you get the message? Don’t tell me it was right before Saihara-chan and co left!”

“Not exactly before... it happened almost immediately after the power went out. Why?” She has an bad feeling in her gut again, except rather than feeling she’s being watched, she feels an impending sense of danger. She gets the feeling she doesn’t want to face Kokichi’s answer. For once, she thinks she wants Kokichi to lie to her. The only thing stopping her is the knowledge that she can’t play pretend anymore.

“Clearly you’ve got an admirer, Akamatsu-chan! And you’ve blatantly ignored their wishes, so they’re gonna be real mad at you. That’s rude, you know.” 

Kaede presses her lips together firmly, a panic taking over slowly. Her hands are clammy. She isn’t cold anymore. “You didn’t put the message on my phone.”  It’s not a question. She knows. She wants him to say yes anyways.

“Akamatsu-chan, do you think I’d wanna stalk someone as boring you?”

He doesn’t outright deny it, but she _knows_. Kaede clenches her fists, not at the comment, but at the horror that washed over her. Her mind still desperately tried to salvage the situation. If it wasn’t a prank from Kokichi, it could be from anyone else, right? Angie might and blame it on a message from Atua. Miu could, Kiibo mentioned she had a programmer friend. Maybe Kiibo himself could! Couldn’t a computer hack?

Though somehow, as she looks Kokichi in the eyes, she knows that she was searching for answers that just weren’t there. That she should’ve trusted her gut when it told her something was wrong. It was just as she originally feared. Someone really was watching her. All of them. The power cutting wasn’t an accident.

“And I wonder,” Kokichi continues, privy to her mounting panic, “why would I cut the power just to stalk you when I have you right here in the house?”

“It was a lure,” she breathes. “Someone was trying to lure me away.” Anyone would think that the class rep would be the one to check on things if something went wrong. Why didn’t I realize earlier? “We—they might be in danger!”

”Yup! Cause I’m gonna go kill them.”

Kaede bites her lip. If she goes with her gut feeling that none of her classmates are behind this, then someone else was trying to lure her out of the cabin. Regardless of how horribly uncomfortable _that_ made her feel, it was overshadowed by her worry for her friends. Would they be hurt? There was still a chance that someone else was messing with them, but she couldn’t bring herself to truly believe it anymore, no matter how many other rational explanations she tried to come up with.

”Unless you’re lying of course!” Kaede is snapped out of her conflicting thoughts, looking at Kokichi tilting his head.

She frowns at him. “You know I’m not lying.” Though that made her wonder if Kirumi thought she was lying when she brought it up in the kitchen. She had seemed oddly eager to deny her help, but then accepting Kiibo’s. Did Kirumi think she was trying to scare her or something?

“What the fuck did you do to your phone?” 

Both of them turn to look at Miu and Rantarou, who are staring down at Kaede’s no longer dead phone. She feels upset at first, at the lack of privacy, then realizing they needed her password to get in.

She rushes over anyway, wanting to see if the message was still there or if she had just briefly lost her mind. Miu’s reaction pointed towards the former. But the screen is different this time.

** WHY DIDNT YOU LEAVE **

Kaede can hear the others commenting, but can’t make out what they’re saying. They were still watching. They knew she didn’t leave. 

Shuichi, Kaito and Maki were in danger. 

“Have they texted?” Kaede bursts out. 

“The guys and Maki?” Rantarou looks at her oddly. “Not as far as I know. They were supposed to text Tojo, though.”

She pulls her phone from Miu’s sweaty hands, trying to open up her phone. No luck. The message stays on screen, going nowhere no matter how hard she tries. The only thing she can do is open her camera and flashlight, and nearly throws it out the window in her frustration.

“What’s happening?” Miu whimpers in the face of anger not even directed at her.

Kaede doesn’t respond, running over to the top of the stairs to yell down at a chatting Kirumi and Kiibo.

”Tojo-san! Have they texted you yet?” 

Kirumi looks startled, but answers quickly. “No, not yet. I haven’t received anything. They should’ve said something by now,” she puts a hand over her mouth. displeased. “Perhaps they have no reception?”

Kaede bites her lip forcefully, barely giving thanks as she runs back over. “Iruma-san, can you call them?”

Miu tries hurriedly, calling Kaito, and goes straight to voicemail. Same with Shuichi. Kaede begins to round on Rantarou when Kokichi speaks up.

”Akamatsu-chan,” he says neutrally. “They’ve hacked into your phone. Who’s to say they haven’t blocked all of us from communicating.”

”Shit!” Kaede nearly shouts. She feels too frazzled, all over the place. She’s lost control immediately, all because she couldn’t use her head and trust her logic.

”Akamatsu,” Rantarou steps in front of her, gently laying his hands on her shoulder. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”

”Someone else is with us,” she grits out. She wouldn’t normally burden others with her problems, but feels like she has no real choice now. “I think Saihara, Momota and Harukawa are in danger.”

The lack of honorifics must prove her genuity to him, as he doesn’t question her. “What can we do?”

“We should blow this popsicle stand,” Kokichi says petulantly, looking at Kaede. She agrees.

Kaede looks over at Miu. “I’m willing to bet you have walkie-talkies, right? Or can make some on the spot with the right supplies?” She has a wild idea, with no clue how well it might work out. If they wanted to block cellular communication, she could make do.

No one was getting hurt on her watch. _Over my dead body._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> maki’s : a) try to save Kaito from running into the trap.  
> b) try to save Shuichi from running into the trap.  
> c) focus on protecting against who or whatever is running at them.  
> d) try to split attention to save both.
> 
> no choice for kaede! figured it’d be best to deal with the trio in danger :)


	5. way down we go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter came late, so to make up for it this is a double update of sorts . also, i tried,, but it’s kinda hard to write an exciting fight scene with maki cause she’s op lmaooo. next update will hopefully be on time (and better)

Kaede was finally able to gather her friends together on the balcony. Angie didn’t want her ceremony to be stopped too soon, so they had to settle on having the meeting outside. 

Why Angie decided to do this in the cold, she had no idea. Kaede was freezing, and didn’t think she’d be feeling better anytime soon. She didn’t want to waste time now that she knew her friends were in danger. 

Currently, Gonta was sacrificing his blood for Atua while Kaede multitasks explaining the situation and keeping them from going off topic. Angie had to pause, though, when Gonta straightened for attention once Kaede brought up the danger.

”Friends are all in danger?”

”How disturbing,” Korekiyo chuckles, sounding and looking unaffected by the news. “It appears Ouma was correct about the axe murderer after all, then?”

”I’ll hex them,” Himiko mumbles, a little pale. Probably from the blood drawn. Only she, Korekiyo and Gonta had their blood drawn so far.

“And you’re sure this isn’t the work of Ouma-san?” Tenko says bluntly, narrowing her eyes at him.

“It is!” Kokichi says unhelpfully.

”It _isn’t_ ,” Kaede insists, putting her hands on her hips. “I’ve had a feeling of being... watched, for a little while. I thought I was just being unnecessarily paranoid, but I’m just about certain now.”

”If friends are in danger, Gonta will do everything to help!”

Tenko nods firmly. “I’ll save all the girls!” At a look from Kaede, she amends, “and the degenerates as well... but mostly the girls!”

”So we’re staging a rescue,” Rantarou hums, glancing around Kaede who nods. “Do we really need to, though? I’m not sure anything would be able to take down Momota, let alone Harukawa, and neither of them would let anything happen to Saihara.”

“I don’t think so either,” she replied truthfully. “Even caught by surprise, Harukawa-san would still likely come out the victor. But this person was able to get into the basement of the house without anyone noticing. We don’t know what they’re capable of, and those three have no idea that they’re being targeted because of me.” She felt the twang of guilt, from potentially being the reason her friends might be hurt, and clenched her freezing hands. She doesn’t know why she’s being targeted in particular, but she knows that if any of them are hurt, or worse, she could never forgive herself.

”It is not your fault,” Kirumi says, slightly stern. “You mustn’t think like that.”

”Yes!” Kiibo adds. “You couldn’t have predicted this.”

”Atua says everything will be a-okay,” Angie smiles, “so don’t be mean to yourself, Kaede~”

Kaede manages a small grateful smile. They all accepted her words quickly when they saw the immovable message on her phone. She didn’t deserve their kindness. All of them could be in danger because she didn’t follow instructions. Logically, she knows something would have occurred sooner or later either way, but she can’t push down the guilt no matter how hard she tries.

After a small debate over the plan, which was less than a plan and more of a let’s go save them together—she made it in about 5 seconds, sue her—they decided to bring a few weapons. By weapons, she means what was lying around the house. Three kitchen knives, a fire extinguisher—why, Kokichi—and a baseball bat found in a bedroom. That made her wonder what they would do when they reached the other three. Would they just go back to the cabin? Sleep? It was nighttime, after all. Would they have some kind of watch system until morning, then leave when they could see better? Or would they make the trek home in the dark? All things she didn’t want to think about right now. _We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it_.

Kirumi was explaining something as she was pulled out of her thoughts. “-believe there is a radio tower nearby as well. It’s indicated on the map I gave to Saihara-kun. To contact authorities,” she explains as Kaede gives her an embarrassing confused look. “Since none of our phones have reception.”

”Oh! Great thinking, Tojo-san.” 

“Speakin’ of radios,” Miu segues, holding out three bright pink walkie talkies, with one attached to her hip. Of course they couldn’t be a normal color. “It’s a good think yours truly always _comes_ in hot and prepared. Kiibster has one too.”

”Thank you,” Kaede says, choosing to ignore the unnecessary emphasis on words. She purses her lips slightly, before giving one to Kirumi and Rantarou, keeping the final one for herself. She figures those two would wield them the most responsibly, though she wasn’t entirely sure Rantarou would bother to stop Kokichi from messing with the radio. She sees him inching forward already. Angie too. Maybe she should’ve given it to Shirogane, who was sitting on the steps leading up to house making shadow puppets with Kiibo’s flashlight eyes, commenting on how the dark hand lump is _plainly a rabbit_.

She huffs slightly as she laments her outfit choice. If only she changed. _No time for that now, unless I stay here. Not happening. I can’t stay put knowing my friends might be in trouble_.

She could bear the cold for now, and could only hope things didn’t get worse.

The two paths in front of the house split perfectly, neither giving any clue of their destination. It started snowing lightly, covering up any tracks.

”Gonta think he see some indents in snow... but too hard to tell.”

Kirumi spoke up hesitantly. “I know one leads to the generator. The other leads to the lake and radio tower. I deeply apologize. I should have put in more effort to-“

”You don’t have to apologize!” Kaede cuts in hastily. “No one expected you to memorize this entire area.” Although she did usually have a better memory than that.

”Mom, what happened to your photographic memory?” Kokichi whines, giving her a strange look.

Kirumi glances at him briefly but sternly. “Please stop calling me mom. I also have never claimed to have a photographic memory. That is beyond even my capabilities.”

Kaede tunes them out, focusing on the now bigger issue. If they didn’t know which path to go down, it could be an issue. If all of them went the wrong way together, then Shuichi, Kaito and Maki would have no way of knowing where they were, with the cell phones messed up. She would much prefer if they split up to make sure—though the idea of more classmates out of her sight did worry her. _I’m being too overbearing. They aren’t babies. They can handle themselves, especially together. I need to relax and think about this realistically_.

**a) all twelve of them stay together now (towards gen. at base of hill), potentially split up later.**

**b) split up now (down each path), potentially meet up later.**

**c) almost same as a, but leave a few people in the house.**

**d) same as b, but leave a few people in the house.**

_________

Maki pushes her feelings down, the suppression coming as naturally to her as ever. She can’t afford to act off emotions. Logically, she knew she couldn’t save both of them. Not without leaving herself vulnerable for whatever was nearby, which would leave them all vulnerable. 

No, she knew she had to focus her energy into fending off this attacker. No matter how much she wanted to lurch forward to grab Kaito, or grab Shuichi’s shoulder, she couldn’t bring herself to pick one. 

_Liar_ , her mind adds unhelpfully. _You know which one you’d rather save_. 

She ignores her thoughts, and makes her choice with a silent apology. Ignores the yells of Kaito and Shuichi, as the ground gives out from beneath their feet. Ignores the sound of them hitting the bottom, ignores the reassuring quickness of it. 

Instead, she turns and grabs the switchblade she keeps strapped to her thigh. T he footsteps stop suddenly, as if gauging the threat they faced, before once more barreling towards her. 

In all honesty, she doesn’t understand what she sees. She nearly feels her brain stop processing for a solid ten seconds.

Maki has faced as many dangerous targets as she has simple ones. Men who refused to go down without a brawl, who whimpered and begged to be spared. Those without the chance to do either, silenced by a shot from beyond. 

This was a target beyond reason.

It was Kaito.

It looked just like him—had that annoyingly familiar goofy grin on his face, the ridiculous hair and jacket and _slippers_.

But that didn’t make sense. Kaito had just fallen down, right? She saw him. She knows she did.  She gives a brief glance down. She can only see the light of one flashlight, no clue who it belonged to. It didn’t look too far down though. They should have no life threatening injuries if there was nothing at the bottom.

“Hey!” ‘Kaito’ waves, regaining her attention. “I’m surprised you didn’t fall down.”

The voice is just the same, too. She clenches the blade in her hand tightly, glad she chose to wear gloves, and doesn’t respond. Focusing on her environment was key. 

A brief thought of holograms crosses her mind, but holograms can’t rustle bushes or leave footprints in snow or  look directly at _her_. The other moves closer slowly as he sees the weapon in her hand. “Yo, chill Kaede! What do you have that for? It’s just me.”

Maki’s eyes narrow. He was calling her Kaede. There was no way it was actually Kaito, then. He never missed an opportunity to call her that irritating nickname. She keeps silent and holds her ground. A good choice, as well. As it sees she’s not interested in lowering her weapon or speaking, it grimaces. “Jeez, sidekick, you’re really gonna make me do this the hard way?”

It moves. She moves.

For all her internal worry, it’s not super powered or anything. It fights just like Kaito—she remembers from all the sparring matches he insisted on, no matter how many times he lost.

Maki keeps her breathing even, dodging the way it rushes at her smoothly. It spins, laughing just like him, and if she didn’t have such self control hammered into her, she would have yelled back. _Stop acting like him. Why do you look like him. Stop smiling like him. How dare you mimic him like this._

‘Kaito’ suddenly throws snow at her— _snow, seriously_ —and she flinches. Moving back quickly as he takes the chance to then throw rocks. It was playing dirty, huh? She nearly rolls her eyes. This fight was nearly as pathetic as its attempts at communicating. Though that doesn’t stop her heart from pounding, as she bites the inside of her cheek hard.

”Kaede, why are you doing this?” ‘Kaito’ says, as he brandishes a large stick. “Why are you fighting me?” It continues, as it hefts a decently sized boulder to toss. Kaito didn’t fight dirty like that—too cowardly.

It takes a while before the fight ends. Not because it was giving her a hard time, but because it looked, sounded, smiled just like Kaito. It was a struggle. Every time she threw a hit towards a it, she grew reluctant. While Maki was pretty certain, there was still a voice in the back of her head, whispering _are you sure it’s not him? Are you really_?

And that’s the only reason she doesn’t go full out. In the end, she can’t bring herself to use her blade, and ignores the guilt she feels when she wonders if she’d use her knife against anyone else.

A moment passes of her easily dodging and debating before shouts climb up to her ears. ‘Kaito’ glances at the hole for just a second, and that’s his downfall. Thrusting the butt of the handle into his solar plexus. Oddly enough, it doesn’t cause ‘Kaito’ to bend over and be winded like he should. A hand reaches for her neck. Maki grabs it on autopilot and jabs down with her elbow, then jabs into the neck windpipe. ‘Kaito’ still somehow doesn’t get winded, but does take advantage of the close proximity to grab her hair.

 _Damn it_. She usually had her hair up and out of the way for missions and confrontations, but had no time to prepare. ‘Kaito’ begins to open his mouth again, but she uses it to her advantage and uppercuts.

His skin feels strange. She throws out all doubt about it being Kaito.

It finally staggers back, and she pushes ‘Kaito’ down, still holding her hair. She hurriedly pulls the strap from around her thigh and the red ribbon from her shirt, using both as makeshift restraints. As ‘Kaito’ struggles, she binds his hands and feet. Maki carefully ignores the way her hands are trembling—not from fear, but from the sheer fact it was Kaito—looked like him, a copy-

What she was seeing didn’t make any sense, but she couldn’t just deny it—she manhandled ‘Kaito’ before her own eyes. Who was this before her? She couldn’t understand what was going on. There was no way Kaito had a twin brother he never talked about. Even if he did, there was no reason for his twin to be attacking her and calling her Kaede.

Even now, Kaito’s copy is still speaking, something about her being lucky, but she ignores it. Keeping the copy in her peripherals, she wills her heart to slow, wipes the sweat cooling against her forehead and finally checks on the boys fallen. What is she going to tell them? Can she tell them? Will it be a mistake if she shows them?

”Momota? Saihara?”

__________

Shuichi hurt.

Everything hurt. But mostly his shoulder. It throbbed wildly, as if begging for his attention. What happened? They were just walking, and then...?

He strains to open his eyes, tries to orient himself to his surroundings, the cold ground beneath almost soothing his arm.

It’s then that the ringing in his ears stops, and he hears sounds of a distant scuffle, and nearby groaning.

 _We fell. The floor dropped... and we fell down_?

Shuichi moves forward until he can reach the light and move it around. There’s Kaito, groaning as he clutches his stomach. There looks to be something trickling out of his mouth.

”Momota-kun! Are you alright?!”

Kaito looks up startled, but quickly plasters on a flickering grin. “Shuichi! I’m just fine. You should worry about yourself, your arm is dragging.” 

Shuichi glances down, to find that is very true. He tries moving his fingers, and comes up short. His arm is tingly, but his shoulder is on fire. It’s taking a lot for him to move. Even the slightest jostle sends pain flaring angrily down to his toes. “It hurts,” he admits, “but you’re bleeding, Momota-kun.” 

“I’m all good, don’t worry about me! Hey, where’s Maki Roll?”

Shuichi startles, and swings the flashlight around to catch sight of her. She’s not there. Kaito’s features crease in worry, but he tries to be optimistic nonetheless. “Maybe she didn’t fall with us. She was a little bit behind.” And without any warning, Kaito shouts her name. Shuichi’s heart nearly beats through his chest, but he just winces and does the same, albeit softer.

It takes a while to garner a response, and they get more and more worried in the meantime. However, they hear light scuffles from the surface, hoping that it’s her safe and okay.

Their wishes were heard, as Maki peeks her head over and calls their names. Shuichi thinks her clothes look different somehow. 

“Harumaki! You’re okay!”

”Momota?” She doesn’t hide the relief in her voice. “You’re alive. Have you broken anything?”

”I’m fit as a fiddle. Shuichi too, aside from his arm.”

”Sure,” Shuichi agrees hesitantly. Kaito was clearly hurt, but he just couldn’t identify where. There was blood trickling from his mouth—an internal injury? He hoped not. “Are you okay, Harukawa-san?”

”I’m fine.” She hesitates, then calls out, “Kaito, do you have siblings?”

Kaito looks stupefied. “I don’t know how that applies, but I’m an only child.” Neither of them can see Maki’s face, she’s much too high up. Shuichi imagines, though, that he sees her tense. Maybe Kaito does too. “Took you a while to pop out! You didn’t hear us?”

”What was the scuffling up there?” Shuichi adds.

Maki is quiet, debating, before she answers, “There’s... Kaito-“ she stops, appears to shake her head, and sighs, “a wolf came out of the underbrush. I had to deal with it first.”

”A wolf?!”

She’s eager to change subject quickly. ”I’m sorry I couldn’t save y-“

”Don’t apologize!” Kaito shouts firmly. “I know you did all you could. Us falling is our own damn fault, right Shuichi?” Shuichi would like to kindly disagree, because he doesn’t want to say the horrid pain in his shoulder is his fault, but concurs regardless. Kaito smiles. “Now we just gotta climb outta here!”

”No,” Maki and Shuichi shut him down in sync.

”I’m not going to make it up. Not with my arm like this.”

”Not with an attitude like that!”

”Do you see the walls?” Maki points out. The flashlight illuminates the walls, revealing the way it almost seemed to jut inward in several places before it went straight down. Shuichi figures they must have hit the offending edges on the way down. “There’s no way to get around those free climbing. That a given. Don’t be reckless.”

”Alright, I get it. What about a ladder?”

”Unless there’s a fire truck nearby, a regular ladder isn’t going to reach anywhere near the top.”

”Rope,” Shuichi interrupts when the idea strikes him like lightning. “Remember our class sports festival, when we found out Shinguji-kun brings rope everywhere he goes?” Shuichi remembered that festival well. Not just because Korekiyo admitted to never leaving the house without rope and a blindfold, or because Miu walked around drooling with a horrifying spiked purple _toy_ , insisting that using it was a sport of its own, but because Kaito and Kaede had hyped him up with enough confidence to participate. Needless to say, Shuichi stayed home for a week after that disaster.

Kaito brightens in memory. “Yeah! Awesome, we’ll just ask Shinguji. Nothing to worry about after all.”

”I might have some too,” Maki mumbles, hardly audible as she’s glancing away at something. “And there might be some in the cabin. Hopefully it’ll be long enough to..”

”None of that ‘hopefully’ jazz! The rope will be long enough.”

”How will Saihara pull himself up on a rope?” Shuichi hadn’t thought about that himself.

”I’m sure we can set it down here, or something,” Kaito reaffirms, and Shuichi is not confident that is true. He guesses his arm is dislocated, and knows that the best way for it to be set is for muscles to be relaxed, and he knows he won’t be relaxing anytime soon. He may have no choice, though. He’d gotten stronger with their training, but he was nowhere near the strength required to pull himself up with one arm.

Maki appears thoroughly distracted by something, and he waits a little too long to ask. “Okay. I’ll go to the cabin and get rope from Shinguji, and tell them that... uhm, I’ll be right back. Stay with each other, and... watch one another, alright?” Her words sounded a little uncharacteristic. Something about her words. Shuichi was itching to ask, but before he can, she tosses something down and leaves. _Not even a proper goodbye, or see you later...? Maybe she feels too guilty about not catching us._

The sharp stick she threw lands in a puddle. They’re in a small cavern, the air moist as the liquid dripping from the ceiling, particularly in the tunnel up ahead. Shuichi can nearly taste the dampness of the air. Was that the snow, or was there a water source nearby that they couldn’t see. 

Kaito had the same idea, as he reaches forward to pick it up. They both have quietly decided to ignore the strangeness of Mali’s behavior until she returns.. “Guess the snow is coming through, huh?” Kaito looks ahead, and Shuichi points the flashlight. The generator is in front of the tunnel, smashed far beyond repair. No power for anyone, then.

Kaito didn’t seem to be bothered about that, too preoccupied with the entrance. “Hey, there might be a way out through there!”

”Hmm, I don’t know... it seems unlikely.”

”But not impossible!” Kaito winces—he can barely notice it in the small amount of light bouncing back at them, but notice he does—and calms down a bit. “Though if Harumaki gets back and sees us gone, she might panic...”

Shuichi thinks it over, but decides to...

**a) go forward and investigate the tunnel.**

**b) stay put and wait at the entrance.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> choices for the whole group  
> a) all twelve of them stay together now (towards gen. at base of hill), potentially split up later.  
> b) split up now (down each path), potentially meet up later.  
> c) almost same as a, but leave a few people in the house.  
> d) same as b, but leave a few people in the house.  
> kaede’s part kept getting screwed over, so if it seems a little off that’s why.
> 
> also, another optional vote: should maki change her mind and try to tell kaito n shuichi about what really happened?


	6. WHAT IF - interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> to make up for being late with last chap, this update about what you guys avoided/missed with the votes !

ch 1 - 

if ouija had been picked to play, paranoia would’ve been wayyy higher. once the power shut out, it would’ve taken a lot more effort to allow anyone to split from the group. and something MIGHT have been summoned to add onto their problems...

if kaede had chosen to go to sleep, her phone would’ve charged until the power cut out, she wouldn’t see the warning message, as she would’ve slept thru it. she also would have contacted hoshi, which would help later.

ch 2 -

if kaede had chosen to leave with kaito and shuichi, they wouldn’t have seen the bear trap in time. kaito would’ve got his leg caught, and they would turn back early and attempted to alert authorities for an ambulance, and would’ve found out cell towers were blocked earlier.

(if kaede had contacted hoshi, this would’ve brought discrepancy and made the group more suspicious. she also wouldn’t have her phone locked out.)

kaito would be injured and cold. maki also would have been a little upset to be left in the house.

ch 3 - if they chose to go straight to the generator, they wouldn’t have begun to find evidence (the documents of kaito, shuichi and kaede). evidence is crucial to them finding out what’s happening to them. 

if kaede had spent her time on the balcony, she would’ve received information from korekiyo regarding some mythical ancient monsters that may have come in handy. she would still write off what was happening as a prank. she also would be more cold.

if she had taken a bath, she’d be much warmer and relaxed. less prone to panicking in the future, but she would not have created a plan because she would think kokichi was pranking her still. her phone would be charged and she still would’ve seen the unchanging screen.

ch 5 -

if maki had saved shuichi, it would’ve been harder to defend against the assailant, as they would’ve targeted shuichi and she would’ve had to focus on protecting him and taking it down while being disoriented from being kaito. kaito would’ve fallen and been down in the cavern alone, and while he would’ve acted okay, would secretly feel very disheartened/betrayed.

if maki saved kaito, the assailant wouldn’t have come out. shuichi would’ve fallen alone, and feel disheartened. 

if maki had tried to save both, the time it would’ve taken to grab and pull both up would be enough for the assailant to run up and push her from behind, causing all to fall in. maki wouldn’t have got the evidence of a copy in play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also a small hint as more make up for being late: as pointed out by and in another comment, no one will go out anticlimactically (i hope). look for minor hints all over for potential deaths to avoid :D


	7. prepare for trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you guys’ kind (and funny) words in the comments mean so much to me! you’re so sweet wtf thank you
> 
> also, something i forgot to mention w the bonus chapter bc i’m dumb: had they played ouija, kaito would’ve been too freaked out to travel outside & search, so he wouldn’t have gone.

Kaede decides the best option is for almost everyone to stick together. They were stronger together. No matter what they faced, so long as they worked as a team, they could work through whatever was happening.

However, that didn’t change the fact that without the map, they didn’t know which path to go down for sure. If they went the wrong way, they could lose valuable time. And if Shuichi, Kaito, and Maki made it back first only to meet an empty cabin, that would create another problem of its own. 

After a bit of debate, Tenko, Himiko, Kiibo, Miu, and Angie would stay in the cabin. Tenko had protested at first, but after a few distracting compliments about her ability to keep the cabin and the girls in it safe—Kaede felt slightly guilty—particularly Himiko, Tenko agreed.

Her thoughts couldn’t help but wander, as they’re deciding which path to go down. Kaede believes she remembers Shuichi directing Kaito down the left path.  At least, she thinks so. She voices this, and Kirumi frowns slightly. “I’m almost certain the generator was down the right path.”

Kaede frowns slightly, put off. “Really? I swear they went down the left one...” though she isn’t sure. She had been focused on the chill seeping in her bones and the unsettling feelings from the first message to truly pay attention.

“Of course, if you’re sure, we can try left,” Kirumi puts a hand to her mouth. “If we’re all staying together, though, it would be a shame if we were wrong...”

Kaede didn’t plan on splitting up down the paths just yet, but maybe she should now. If they all went the wrong way, they would lose much time. Not to mention they could miss the trio returning to the cabin. Kirumi’s memory was much better, as a maid, so going right was probably the better option. 

Kirumi is probably just rattled that the three sent out earlier were in danger, just as she originally suspected. The maid was probably too busy beating herself up for not being firmer in her disagreement with sending them out. 

Kaede bites her lip guiltily as she strains to keep her thoughts in control, as she briefly wonders if Kirumi _is_ too frazzled to be trusted with directions. The same could even be said for herself. But she needs to trust in her friends. Even with the bad feeling in her stomach, she needs to trust her friends if they all want to stay safe.

She looks over at Kokichi hanging off Gonta, Rantarou and Korekiyo talking calmly, Tsumugi collecting snow and idly interjecting, Kirumi’s reassuring yet firm expression, and breathes out. She’s been working on relying on them more, on not taking on everything by herself as class representative. 

”Okay,” Kaede agrees. “We can try right, but we need to go fast.” Just in case.

Kirumi inclines her head gratefully. “I will lead they way with you.” Kaede wonders if she should argue a little harder to go left, but both options were a tossup. She could only hope Kirumi’s memory served better than hers.

They were traveling quietly, unusually quiet for her friends. The oppressive atmosphere halted most conversation, only obnoxious or comforting comments here and there. Kaede just hoped she was doing enough to keep them all okay. She herself was cold, and had to keep insisting that _no, you don’t have to give me your jacket, thank you Gonta_.

Everyone in the cabin was fine. Each time Kaede checks in on them through the walkie talkie, her worries are immediately alleviated. If only the same could be said for everything else.

It was creepy. Dark, snowy, with only flashlights and the crescent moon.

“What is that?” Gonta asks suddenly, putting an arm in front of her. Kaede frowns slightly, seeing nothing in particular. Just snow, and the few trees lining the path. Everything was starting to look the same.

”Huh? There’s nothing.”

Rantarou frowns, picking up a long stick. He pushes it forwards, and a sharp snap rings out as teeth viciously clamp down.

Kaede blinks as she processes. 

A bear trap. Three, actually, all in a row in front of them across the stone path.

Tsumugi gasps. “That’s horrible! Is that on purpose?”

”And I...” Kaede swallows, throat dry as she realizes how close she was to it. “I didn’t notice anything.”

“Isn’t that strange,” Kokichi suddenly hums nonchalantly.

“Yeah,” Kaede breathes, putting a hand to her chest. Her heart is losing its mind, much like she is. “Why would someone put a bear trap on the path? That’s asking for someone to step in it.” _Maybe it was meant for me_. The thought makes her heart pound so hard she thinks it might pulse through her chest.

“Not just that. Don’t tell me you forgot what you said before, Akamatsu-chan!”

“Huh?” She thinks past the fear of nearly losing a leg. “...I said I didn’t notice anything.” What was he talking about? Gonta and Rantarou had foiled the trap.

Kokichi puts his arms behind his head. “Yep! You haven’t noticed  _anything_ .”

Trying to push down her frustration, she tries to understand what Kokichi was getting at. What was so important about her not noticing anything? They were in a miniature woods, of course she wouldn’t notice. Her _hearing_ was above average, not her eyes. Gonta’s sight was amazing, and he spent most of his time outdoors. Him being able to see a bear trap in the snow-

Wait. Her hearing.

Kaede widens her eyes as she gestures for everyone to be quiet. It was true. She didn’t notice anything, but in a different sense.

There was nothing to notice. 

It was unnaturally silent. The wind wasn’t blowing the leaves, no owls hooting or crickets chirping. Nature was never quiet, even at night. Kaede’s hearing was extremely sensitive from years of music, so how was she just hearing nothing but the stagnant atmosphere?

Her classmates caught on as well.  Tsumugi spoke up first. “It’s plainly creepy out here. Where are all the animals?”

“Gonta hasn’t seen any bugs, either, other than a butterfly.” _Right, when we were on the gondola. I forgot about that_. “Gonta was sad about it, but didn’t think it was important.”

“Something is very unnatural,” Korekiyo glances around. “If there are no animals, why are there a bear traps?”

”It’s not for the animals,” Kaede clenches her fists. _It’s for me. Us_. _This confirms it_.

The idea of her friends getting caught in a bear trap is nearly enough to make her sick. Had Shuichi or Kaito gotten stuck in one? They couldn’t have, right? There was no blood on it. Then again, they might’ve gone down the other path. 

No. There’s no way Maki wouldn’t have noticed a bear trap. Her eyes are sharp like Gonta’s. They were fine. She needed to focus on what’s ahead of her. 

“Everyone okay?” She receives nods and murmurs of assent. “Let’s keep a better eye out, yeah?”

”Let Gonta go first, in case more traps are hiding.”

Knowing she won’t be able to talk him out of it, she only sighs. “Thank you, Gonta-kun.” They start walking again, more carefully now. Most of them, at least. Rantarou was still walking coolly, looking without a care in the world, but Kaede knew better. He was probably on edge, just good at hiding it. Kokichi was still on Gonta’s back, and Kirumi’s face was composed as ever. She feels a rush of pride that her friends were so strong, but also saddened by how they felt they needed to hide their emotions. _Then again, I’m doing the same thing, aren’t I?_

”Could your feet even get caught in a bear trap?” Tsumugi questions Gonta absently, staring down at the ground as she walks. She is carrying the baseball bat.

”It’d have to be huge! Maybe I’ll get Iruma-chan to make a Gonta-proof trap!” 

Kaede has no doubts that Miu would’ve made a joke about that last phrase. While she doesn’t want to entertain the idea of making a trap big enough for the man’s feet, Miu’s joke would lighten the mood.

“There is certainly one large enough for Gokuhara-kun,” Korekiyo hums, eyes distant. “Why, there are some created to be the size of humans. I wonder if Yumeno-san has ever encountered one in her time as a magician.”

”I doubt that’s part of any magic shows,” Rantarou chuckles.

Kirumi hums in agreement. “I can’t imagine any tricks that would work with a giant bear trap.”

”I’m sure people thought the same about iron maidens, no?” Korekiyo gives his signature unsettling laugh. “Yet they are commonplace among magic shows.”

“Maybe Yumeno-san will set a new bar!” Kaede enthused.

“Or she’ll get chomped,” Kokichi says. 

“Ouma-kun!“ Gonta gasps, scandalized. “That ungentlemanly! You should not talk about Yumeno-san getting hurt.”

”You’re right,” he pouts, “she’s probably too short to get chomped by a giant bear trap. Better stick to the normal ones.”

Kaede thinks they’re way, way too off track from the real issue, but is not surprised at all. 

“You’d be too short as well, Ouma-kun,” Kaede adds slyly, the other immediately claiming to be bullied and bursting into faux tears on Gonta’s back.

She’s glad they’re mostly acting like normal. It was a comfort.

Not that the comfort mattered.

It was the path to the lake.

”I am so sorry,” Kirumi repeats, hand against her heart as if to bare it to prove her sincerity.

”It’s okay,” Kaede says instantly, even though it isn’t. She can’t help the rush of annoyance. She was right about which path to go down. She shouldn’t have bothered listening.

 _No_ , she chastises herself. _I’m learning to stop bulldozing over people just because_ I _think it’s in their best interest_. She had learned that lesson the hard way, earlier in their year as classmates, when everyone was still getting used to the bold talents and bolder personalities. 

“The radio tower is here, though,” Tsumugi points out, putting an awkward hand on Kirumi’s shoulder. “So this way wasn’t completely useless!” 

“Yes!” Gonta grins innocently. “Not completely useless!”

“I’m not sure that’s as comforting as you think it is,” Korekiyo tells the gentle giant. “Regardless, we do have the chance to contact outside assistance now.” That was true. Not many of them had a way home. It was getting later and later at night, so no more buses would be coming out this far—too dark to walk down to the bus stop anyways—and only a couple of them drove.

 _Hell_ , Kaede thinks irritatedly, _maybe if we do we’ll find out this is some stupid social experiment, and then we can actually enjoy a vacation without it going horribly wrong._

”I truly am sorry,” Kirumi repeats sincerely, a pain etched on her face. “My mistake has cost us precious time. As a maid, this is-“

“I can’t believe it,” Kokichi sniffs dramatically, interrupting. “Mom is a liar.”

”She was just trying to help,” Rantarou interjects, trying to cheer her up. “Don’t blame it all on her. None of us knew the right way to go.” _I did_ , Kaede purses her lips bitterly, then immediately scolds herself internally. She had guessed just like Kirumi. She had no right to blame it all on the maid. 

“I’m not talking about _that_ ,” Kokichi admires his nails, as if bored. “It’s not nice to lie, you know.”

”Silly, coming from you,” Korekiyo murmurs, though is too busy looking fascinated by the potential of an argument to truly interject.

Kirumi doesn’t share the sentiment, her visible eye narrowing as her hand goes before her mouth. “Pardon?”

”Ouma-kun,” Kaede stresses, because she’s not in the mood to deal with this right now—too much frustration. “Please don’t start anything right now.”

Kokichi doesn’t respond. Neither does Kirumi, as they stare at one another. Both faces are blank. Kaede furrows her brows. Gonta frowns. “Please no fighting. We are friends.” He doesn’t get a response still, which disheartens him more. Kaede takes a second to rub her temples, looking around to calm herself.

The area was beautiful. The lake, huge and proud, mostly frozen over, was reflecting the moonlight, illuminating the tower standing tall next to it. The serenity of nature was contrasted by the rising tension of the group.

The sound of the radios going haywire breaks the silence.

Kaede flinches, and pulls hers up before Rantarou does. The sound cuts in properly with a boisterous voice.

“-ly shit! Fuck!” Miu yells. Even through a radio, she’s loud. Kaede winces, feels herself tense. “Someone’s pounding that door like it’s an ass!”

”What a lovely description.” 

A shuffling noise is heard, and a new voice comes on. “Nyahaha! Hello, Kaede! We seem to have a guest at the door.”

“What?!” Kaede exclaims, nearly dropping the radio. “Have you checked who it is?” _Please don’t be dangerous. Please don’t be dangerous_.

”Not yet,” Kiibo’s voice cuts in. “The knocking has only just started, but it has not stopped yet. It is rapid.”

”We’ll be right there!” Kaede turns before she realizes, and runs right into Rantarou, who steadies her immediately with a grim look on his face.

”You’ll take too long to get here,” Kiibo argues, firmly but kindly. “By the time you do Chabashira-san will have confronted them already.

“She is about to open it~” Angie’s voice lilts, barely audible. 

“I will hand you over to Iruma-san,” Kiibo grows farther away, until he shuts the radio off.

Kaede bites her lip hard, barely feeling it through the numbing cold as she forces herself to think quickly and rationally. Kiibo was right about that. If Tenko thought there was a threat, she wouldn’t hesitate to protect her friends. But she didn’t want to just leave them to fend for themselves. What if it was the person ‘stalking’ her and her friends? Or what if it was just the three sent to the generator finally returning?

She gets an idea as she glances at the tower. If their phones didn’t work, the tower should. They could contact help, just in case. 

**a) disregard the radio tower, and go all the way back to the lodge.**

**b) use the radio tower to call for help, then go to the cabin after.**

**c) split up—half go use the tower, half go back to help.**

___________

Maki, after recapturing ‘Kaito’ from his attempt to worm away, sits for a few moments and thinks.

Should she show them? All it would do is make them paranoid. Hell, it was making _her_ paranoid. Then again, it was probably better for them to be wary and paranoid than ignorant and unprepared. 

Grimacing, she glances at the clone beneath her knee. He stopped resisting as soon as she touched him, lying in the snow without so much as shivering. Almost appears inhuman.

Maki tells them. She pulls the copy with her, who goes easily, strangely enough. It’s too far up for Kaito and Shuichi to see perfectly, but they can definitely see that it’s Kaito. They can see the classic spiked hair, goatee, that damn galaxy jacket, and everything else to recreate Kaito. 

The reaction is interesting. Firstly hot denial from Kaito, refusing to believe what he was seeing. Shuichi as well, though more quietly and with a hint of consideration. 

Eventually, the clone calls out an “ _ah, shit, there’s not supposed to be three of you_ ” in Kaito’s voice, and that seems to alleviate most doubts.

She is tempted to chuck the copy down the hole headfirst to see if that’ll actually injure it, but disregards the thought immediately. If it didn’t get hurt, it could hurt Kaito and Shuichi, who she knew weren’t in great shape. 

She was worried still. This thing was obviously incredibly strong. It hadn’t taken any real damage when she hit it, and she hits  _hard_. The only person she could think of that would be able to take a hit from her without falling or at least being winded is Gonta, and that’s only because the guy was a wall. That makes her grateful that it wasn’t a clone of Gonta. She had never sparred with him—too ungentlemanly, to risk hurting a lady in a fight—but she knows how to take down people larger than her. But someone large like Gonta, with the physical resistance that ‘Kaito’ had during their fight was something even _she_ didn’t want to experience.

_As long as there’s only one_ , Maki thinks.

“Why were you calling me Kaede?” She asks after ignoring him for a solid five minutes. They were trekking back through the forest, Maki practically pulling the guy as he insisted on dragging his feet.

“Are you not her?”  You’re just asking this now? Whatever this is, it clearly isn’t smart. “You’re the girl investigating outside with Shuichi. That’s Kaede. I had your stupid paper.”

She frowns as her heart picks up. She sees the lodge coming up before her, and is on edge. The air has changed. 

“ _You_ threw the documents in the pond, then.”

”If that’s what you wanna think,” it dodges the question, and she nearly scowls in annoyance. “But if you’re not Kaede, I don’t have to keep up this charade, huh?” The doppelgänger begins to smile, and Maki brandishes her knife threateningly. It laughs. “Ah, I guess that’s my goof up. You’re... Maki, right?”

She tenses. “No.”

It stops, and Maki, holding his arm in a vice grip, is stopped with him. “Shit! Of course you’re Maki Roll. Kaede can’t fight like that.”

Something shifts, and her danger senses rise once more. Her gut tells her to back away. “Don’t call me that.”

”So she’s still in the cabin?” Kaitwo continues like she never spoke. “Damn. I knew I should’ve asked for pictures.”

Maki begins to back away slowly, ready to pivot towards the lodge if need be. The last time she had to retreat from a threat she was a child. She never met anything that could push fear into her system like this. All it’s doing is smiling, and her body is overrun with adrenaline. The cabin is only a little bit up the mountain. She can see it, lights through the windows.

_Never underestimate an opponent._

”What are you?” The words slip out before she can stop herself. Maki doesn’t even know why she’s asking—of course, it must be a human. Tsumugi could cosplay, she could be recreating some weird and obscure show. An ultimate imposter existed, right? But despite her desperately trying to rationalize it, deep down she knows. Knows whatever this is, it’s beyond her. Beyond any of them.

Then it starts  _transforming_.

____________

Kaito was obviously very affected. His brows stayed drawn, face sweating despite him being freezing cold. Seeing an exact replica of yourself was enough to jar anyone, though he tried to mask it.

Shuichi was rattled as well. There was no way for something like that to exist, plain and simple. It made him wonder if they were perhaps dealing with something like an ultimate imposter. He had heard about one existing before. Is it possible they were involved? There was no way there was something... supernatural, right?

There was no way. Hope’s Peak checked out the place before sending them here, right? They wouldn’t send them somewhere dangerous... but all the evidence was saying otherwise. How did those documents get here if not for the school? Hope’s Peak had them waived, yet here they were still. It didn’t make any sense.

The tunnel was very tempting. Shuichi wanted desperately to investigate, to get answers and learn what was going on? With their injuries, it would be smartest for them to stay put, at least right now. Not to mention the possibility of running into a... whatever the copy of Kaito was, ultimate or otherwise.

Kaito’s phone had, unsurprisingly, been smashed in the fall. Shuichi’s would simply not turn on, despite its previous full battery. The only thing that was salvaged was one flashlight, and even that one had a crack down the middle. They were lucky it was still hanging on.

Kaito’s breathing sounded funny, and Shuichi was completely ready to cut off his arm to get rid of the pain. Neither of them were in good shape. Kaito didn’t argue, although whether it was because of the pain or the shock of clones was unsaid.

Shuichi decided he needed to do _something_ , even if they weren’t going to investigate the tunnel. 

“Momota-kun,” he tries again, “are you alright? Your breathing is off.”

Kaito tries for a smile. It’s not quite right, not by a long shot, but Shuichi keeps that to himself. “A little fall isn’t gonna shake me! How’s your arm?”

Maybe if he’s honest, Kaito will feel less inclined to hide his hurt. “It’s painful and numb at the same time. It might be dislocated.” He hoped so, at least. It’s easier to deal with a dislocation than a fracture or break. 

“Shit,” Kaito winces sympathetically. Kaito holds out a hand for the flashlight, and gets Shuichi to take off his jacket. It’s a difficult process, as moving his arm even just barely is terrible. 

After a lot of work, Shuichi’s arm is more visible. Now he can see the awkward angle of his shoulder left by the space of his arm out of joint.

”Yeah, that’s almost definitely dislocated. You’re in luck, Shuichi! I’m sure we can push it back into place.”

Shuichi completely forgets about his mission to discover what exactly was wrong with Kaito when he hears those last words. “H-huh?!”

Kaito was smiling, but there was still blood in the corner of his mouth. He didn’t need to be exerting himself anymore than necessary.

He wasn’t sure how confident he was in Kaito’s ability to set his arm into place. Would he run into something like that as an astronaut? It might be safer just to wait for help...

**a) let Kaito try to pop arm back into place.**

**b) use a makeshift sling out of the jacket.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a) disregard the radio tower, and go all the way back to the lodge.  
> b) use the radio tower to call for help, then go to the cabin after.  
> c) split up—half go use the tower, half go back to help.  
> don’t worry, ryoma will be appearing soon! i could never exclude my sad boi  
> also, if it seems some characters arent having much time to shine/we aren’t seeing as much, don’t worry. everyone will be very present as things come into play.
> 
> also, you are allowed to change your votes. also, keep in mind that all different povs are occurring at the same time when u vote.


	8. make it double

Kiibo’s inner voice had been a little strange lately. Normally, his inner voice is just helpful— _charge in an hour, receive an update, call Iidabashi tonight_ —but now it was quiet. It left him uneasy.

It had been quiet for a while now, and he just couldn’t pinpoint when it began. It hadn’t said anything when he was going around the house, creeped out by all the “art” on the walls, the locked bathroom door—seriously, no one was using it, why was it locked? If only their resident lock-picker was here—or when he was quietly talking to the others about it.

Miu was unhelpful in that aspect. “I don’t know what happened to that damn voice in your head. Maybe it got fucked up like Bakamatsu’s phone.”

”If only I had enough mana leftover,” Himiko yawns from the couch, completely ignoring the fact that they were supposed to stay vigilant in case there was actually danger on the mountain. “I could fix you in an instant... free of charge...”

”Don’t waste your magic on a degenerate, Yumeno-san!” Tenko warns from her spot right in front of the sliding doors. She had been standing vigilant for the past ten minutes, carefully glancing over everything. Tenko was taking Kaede’s request to protect the cabin (and those within it) very seriously. Considering it was Tenko, that wasn’t surprising.

“It’s alright,” Kiibo sighs, ignoring Tenko’s namecalling. Unfortunately, being a robot meant he had to deal with plenty of name calling and robophobia. “I suppose I don’t need my inner voice this weekend.” He could rely on himself just fine.

”Yeah!” Miu cackles. “Who needs to listen to wacko voices in your head when you could be chuggin’ some chardonnay!”

”Iruma-san, there will be no consumption of alcohol at any point! We are minors!”

”Are you really a minor?” Angie, having finished her prayer for the others who ventured out, questions from her place next to Himiko, painting the redhead’s nails. “Robots do not have an age, yes?”

Kiibo fumes immediately. “Of course I have an age! I have been painstakingly designed to represent a teenager just like all of you. While I may not have existed for as long as you all-“

He didn’t have a chance to continue defending himself, as rapid-fire knocking came from the front door.

The cabin went into chaos. Angie knocks over everything on the coffee table—glass of water shattering, nail polish spilling across the table and floor. Miu flinches back into the corner furthest from the door, grappling with the radio strapped to her belt, and nearly knocks over a vase on her way. She turns on the radio and whisper shouts the Kaede.

”Holy shit! Fuck! Someone’s pounding that door like it’s an ass!”

Kiibo grimaces at her poor phrasing, but can’t bring himself to scold her when the pouring grows louder. Tenko is trying to signal them all to be quiet as she creeps forward, serious in a way she only gets during matches. He marches silently over to Miu, ready to tell her to speak quieter. Angie reaches her first.

She gives her typical laugh, almost hiding her fear perfectly, if not for the way her fingers tremble as she plucks the radio from Miu’s fingers. “Hello Kaede! We seem to have a guest at the door.”

Kaede’s voice answers frantically, asking if they’ve checked who it is. Tenko now glares at Kiibo thunderously, shushing him despite him not saying a word. 

“Not yet,” he answers, trying to get this over as quickly as possible before Tenko decides whoever’s at the door can wait and comes to flip him instead. “The knocking has only just started, but has not stopped. It is rapid.” And that was true. Other than a brief pause just as he says this, it starts back up again worse than ever. 

Kiibo then has to calm Kaede down, quickly assuring her that them making their way back to the cabin was useless. Tenko was right in front of the door now, and nothing was stopping her at this point other than their lack of quiet. Thankfully they were relatively far from the door, so whoever was out there wasn’t hearing them, aside from perhaps Miu. 

“Turn off your flashlight, Kiibo!” Himiko whimpers quietly, grinding her teeth anxiously. Kiibo nearly facepalms at his own stupidity. How could they bother being quiet if anyone could look through the window and see the bright lights of his eyes?

Tenko doesn’t seem to care about their lack of subtlety anymore. “Whoever you are,” she whispers dangerously, crouched low like a tiger “Tenko will not allow you to-“

“Chabashira!” The person’s voice interrupts,familiar, and Kiibo’s eyes widened. “Open the door!”

Tenko falters for a moment, clearly surprised at who she was hearing, but cautiously unlocks and opens it anyways. They burst into the room, and Tenko flinches as she’s nearly hit by the door, preparing to flip. Her defensive stance relaxes upon seeing who it is.

“Harukawa-san?!” Tenko flounders, as Maki turns to shut the door harshly.

“Get ready,” is all Maki hisses, crouching low with a knife out. Tenko doesn’t question her, hands out again. Kiibo prepares to turn on his flashlights again. If an intruder comes, they will be blinded in an instant. He hopes he won’t have to use a more drastic feature.

They wait tensely for something to happen, about to snap with the slightest noise and movement.

Kiibo feels the artificial sweat gather on his hands and forehead, feels the systems that let his heart beat accelerate more than ever. He wishes for his inner voice to advise him, even just a little. He can’t take this anticipation.

The paintings of the black and white bear leer down mockingly.

Why was she here without Shuichi and Kaito? What will they do if whoever—or whatever—is chasing Maki comes in?

Nothing did. It was eerily silent. Nothing moves outside. No leaves rustle with wind, no animals skittering-

Until Angie skips to the window, gaining hisses from everyone as she unceremoniously pulls back the curtain. “Huh?” she drawls out, ignoring the frantic signal for her to return. “There’s no one there.”

Kiibo hesitates where Maki doesn’t. She makes her way silently behind Angie, using the smaller girl as a partial shield from the window as she stares through intensely. 

The grip on her knife loosens just barely. “Where the hell...” she mutters to herself, before clenching her jaw and turning back around. “Check everywhere in the house. Make sure everything is locked—no points of entry anywhere, and quickly. Got it?” At the lack of response outside of staring, Maki’s face hardens scarily. Miu and Kiibo flinch. “ _Got it_?”

Tenko is the first one to snap out of her stupor. “Understood! Tenko will check upstairs!” she calls as she bounds off, footsteps quiet in a way only an athlete could hope to accomplish. 

Kiibo can’t help but feel clunky in comparison. But there was no time for that now—he needed to take action. “Right!” he spins promptly, moving to the kitchen quickly. He doesn’t know what kind of threat they were looking at—but any danger that made even _Maki_ run was clearly a bad sign.

He figures Himiko, Miu, and Angie wouldn’t be doing much securing outside of the main room. Miu was clearly too terrified for anything of the sort, Himiko was clutching onto her hat too hard and hiding beneath it to do anything, and Angie was once again praying anxiously. Tenko would take care of the upstairs, leaving Maki to secure... who knows what she was doing, honestly. _She still hasn’t explained anything_.

Kiibo would be lying if he said he wasn’t intimidated by Maki. He had no clue where they stood with each other. Honestly, he didn’t know where Maki stood with most people in their class, not that it was any of his business. The only people she really tolerated were Kaito and Shuichi—particularly Kaito—and surprisingly, depending on how you looked at it, Ryoma. Even Maki and Kaede‘s relationship was weird, which was crazy because it was _Kaede_. She made it her life goal to _get along_ with everyone, according to Miu. Kaito was of course trying his damndest to make his sidekicks get along, but those two’s interactions were always so oddly... stilted. 

Kiibo shakes himself out of his musings. Now wasn’t the time—he just needed to secure the perimeter, and then he could ask Maki about what was going on. Maybe they ought to radio Kaede back too, let her know they were alright.

The kitchen was almost normal, if not for the hot chocolate packets on all over the counter. While normal for anyone else, Kirumi would never leave anything behind after she finished cooking. She was by all accounts a clean freak. It came with her talent. Kiibo had been there with Kirumi, as she cleaned up all the mugs of hot chocolate themselves, so why would she leave the packets on the counter?

Then there was the backdoor in the corner, with a large window to showcase the dark and snow. Kiibo went to it hesitantly.

It was unlocked. 

He feels faux sweat break out on his forehead once again, the programmed jitters going down his spine. How long has it been unlocked?

_Who_ unlocked it? Who all had been in the kitchen? And why didn’t they lock it back?

He quickly moves forward and locks it, not that it matters. If this door was unlocked, anyone could have come in and snuck around already. _This is urgent... I need to tell the others_. 

He rushes back into the living room to hear Miu yelling at the radio. 

“Oi, flat tits, take the fuckin’ pole outta yer ass and listen! We’re good here, alright? Just use that stinkin’ tower!”  Kiibo frowns, confused.  Miu would probably be a little more useful with a radio tower, but Kirumi and Korekiyo could probably work one well.  “It was just the assassin bitch.” She glances over at Maki quickly as she says it, who is rummaging through bags as Himiko hovers nearby. Kiibo is momentarily distracted. 

“Harukawa-san?! What are you doing?”

Unconcerned by the blatant invasion of privacy, Maki dusts herself off as she quickly moves onto the next bag. “I need Shinguji’s rope, and any other rope we have.” Before anyone—namely Kiibo himself—can speak up about going through people’s belongings, she explains what happened to Kaito and Shuichi, then falling down a trap surrounding the generator. It feels as though she’s leaving something out, though Kiibo doesn’t want to accuse her of lies by omission without any proof. 

”They are far down,” she finishes grimly, “and an average ladder won’t cut it.”

Tenko, who had been listening intently from over the landing, makes an excited noise as she rushes over to the balcony. She returns with the decorative—that’s what Korekiyo claims it is, but what does that even _mean_ —red rope. “Will this help?”

Maki meets her halfway and tosses it over the railing in a test. The rope pools on the ground significantly, though she still seems displeased. A quiet “damn it” escapes her. “Tojo, are there any other...” Maki furrows her brows as if just noticing half the group was missing. Tenko takes the time to fill her in about the search party for the three, and the strange happenings around Kaede’s phone. Maki doesn’t look surprised at the last part. “There’s definitely something strange going on around her specifically,” but she doesn’t elaborate beyond that. 

Kiibo is worried. If they fell so far that even ropes that length couldn’t reach them, they had to be injured, right? The unlocked door was almost completely out of his mind, taken over by worry of severe injury. 

Maki shakes her head. “They’re not that bad yet, but they could be if I don’t pull them up soon. Momota was already cold, and whatever he did to himself falling will only exacerbate it. Do any of you have something useful, or will I have to call Tojo myself?”

Angie lights up. “Oh, Himiko has ropes!”

Himiko’s eyes widen. “I do...?”

”Yep yep! For the new magic trick you were gonna show off, remember?”

Himiko’s face alights with excitement, as much as someone as unexpressive as her can look excited. Angie pulls them out of her bag. They almost look like strange curtains, deep purple and shimmering in the candlelight.

Maki glances between Himiko’s stage ropes and Korekiyo’s “decorative” ropes and nods firmly, a wordless _that’ll do_.

“Wait! You can’t...” Himiko pouts as Maki approaches, the item in question dragging on the floor. “You can’t take them. You’ll ruin the magic...”

Kiibo tilts his head, completely missing the change in atmosphere. “What kind of magic acts are performed with ropes like that?”

Miu grins. “Oh, I know a few _acts_ that need ropes! Didn’t think short stack was into that,” she smirks lewdly. No one is paying attention to either of them. The focus is on the ex-assassin.

Maki looks _very_ unhappy. Kiibo can see a conflicted Tenko twitch from the side, clearly not wanting to defend against a _girl_ yet also eager to defend Himiko. “Your magic doesn’t matter right now. Momota and Saihara are trapped. Give them to me.” _Or I’ll make you_ is left unsaid.

“Simple solution~” Angie cheers, cutting through the tension with an easy smile. “Himiko brings the extra ropes herself! Then she can use her magic properly without Maki ruining them!”

” _Don’t_ call me that,” Maki grimaces as she shoots Angie a sharp glare, but steels herself and pulls on a pigtail. “Shinguji’s rope doesn’t look long enough to reach them. They need all the extra rope I can get. I don’t care how it happens.”

Tenko finally speaks up. “B-but Yumeno-san should be staying here, where it’s safe! Tenko can come with you-“

”Will Yumeno give the ropes to you?”

Himiko holds onto them stubbornly as she looks over to Tenko. “No. You’ll ruin the magic!”

Tenko bites her lip, clearly hurt. “Ten-I would never! I’m not as skilled in magic as you, but I promise I wouldn’t damage your ropes at all! And I won’t let Momota-san or Saihara-san damage them either!” Even Tenko referring time herself outside of third person wasn’t enough to sway the magician.

”Wait!” Miu nearly screeches. “If _you_ go with the ropes, who the hell’s gonna protect the cabin?”

Kiibo wilts. “I can protect as well...”

Tenko looks even more conflicted, eyes darting. “Yes, Tenko is protecting the cabin, but if she can help...”

”We don’t have time for this,” Maki has a hand on the doorknob, foot tapping anxiously. She has another knife in her hand—longer, a hunting knife. She must have grabbed it from her bag. “There’s too much going on right now. After Momota and Saihara are brought out, I can explain what we’re dealing with. But I don’t want to waste time doing it here. Hurry up and decide already.”

Kiibo’s eyes widen as he begins to hear something. Something far and near and close and missing all at once, like a word sitting at the tip of your tongue that you just can’t remember. Was this...

Was his inner voice trying to say something...?

**a) have extra just in case. encourage himiko to go with the silk ropes.**

**b) hope the amount of rope from korekiyo’s bag is long enough.**

___________

Ryoma wishes he could say he’s not disappointed. 

_** mother maid: I checked the forecast in the area. I’m afraid our trip is going to be postponed, due to a huge storm ready to pass over the mountain. ** _

_** mother maid: It would be too dangerous, so it is best that we cancel the trip until further notice. ** _

_Huh. Still haven’t changed the name Ouma set her to._

It was both a disappointment and a relief. He wouldn’t have to deal with the obnoxious yelling that came free and guaranteed with his class for the entirety of the weekend. It was crazy enough in school, let alone in a cabin in the mountains. 

But he also had been looking forward to that obnoxious yelling and laughter, and attempts at making sure everyone was having a good time, not that Ryoma would admit it.

Regardless, he shuts off his phone as the stop comes up, gripping the CD in his hand tightly.

He was on his way to bring Kaede her CD back. Tchaikovsky, _Serenade for Strings in C Major_. She had let him borrow it, suggesting it would be calming for him to listen to when he started getting in his head too much. Ryoma took it at first mostly to placate her, but actually got use out of it. While he wasn’t a classical music fanatic like Kaede, he could still appreciate the works in the piece. Just listening to it put him more at ease.

He would’ve returned it when they saw each other at the lodge, but, well. 

_At least this way maybe she’ll let me borrow another_ , Ryoma thinks, wiping the excess sugar from his candy off his hand, and sets out to walk the rest of the way down.

Kaede’s house is pretty nice. Two stories, and he can see a little decoration in each window facing the sidewalk. Ryoma looks at it and is struck with the remembrance of his old childhood home, before everything went wrong.

He shakes himself out of the memory, not wanting to seem like some weirdo creeping outside, goes to text Kaede that he’s here when the door opens suddenly. 

Ryoma almost thinks he’s seeing Kaede at first, until he notices the hair is too long, the face too unfriendly and the outfit has nowhere near enough link. 

“Who are you,” she glances down at him like he’s a bug, and he thinks _yep, this is her twin sister alright_. “And why are you hanging around our house like a freak.” _Yikes_. He yanks his hat down slightly in embarrassment, resisting the urge to pull out a candy cigarette.

“One of Akamatsu-“ _shit_ , she was an Akamatsu too- “uh, Kaede’s...” friend? Were they friends? She insisted they were, though whether out of obligation as class rep or genuine desire he wasn’t entirely sure still. It was hard to believe anyone wanted to be friends with him out of real interest. “...classmates. I’m one of her classmates.” 

“You’re her classmate?” She narrows her eyes at him, and all he can do is nod back. After a moment of appraisal, as he starts to think he’ll be turned away, her eyes widen in vague recognition. She reminds him too much of Kaede. “Oh, the really short guy. Hoshi, right?” He sighs, used to it and inclines his head. “Why are you here, then? Aren’t you supposed to be on that trip?”

Ryoma gets a bad feeling, one that tells him he’s not going to like what he hears next. His hands are clammy, and he’s encompassed by nerves, as if he were back in a championship match, players at deuce, or back in the mafia’s second base, systematically making his way through the bodies. He finds he really hates it. “Our trip was cancelled.”

Her face changes from moderately unfriendly to shock to pity in a single moment, and he prepares himself. He can guess what he’s about to hear. 

“Kaede left about a half hour ago.” Ryoma nods once more in return, pulling his hat down to avoid the sympathy in those pink eyes. “Um, I’m sure you can still make it on time...?” There sounds like a little bit of surprise in her voice, too, as if the idea of Kaede excluding someone from a vacation was unbelievable. Honestly, it was. All she did was preach about friendship and belief and _teamwork_. It makes him wonder if Kirumi in particular wanted him to stay away. She had sent the text to him only, rather than their class chat. That should’ve been an indicator, he supposes, but no. He looked past all the signs, too wrapped up in the idea of someone like him actually having people who care about him again to see what was right in front of his eyes. 

He tells himself that it’s expected. He had no right to have friends, and even less right to be sad about it. It was only a matter of time. 

Ryoma ignores the tightness of his throat, grits his teeth as he pulls his out his last piece of candy, and goes back to the bus stop, desperately trying to convince himself that he’s not hurt.

And by the time he’s on the bus again, avoiding that same piece of dried gum on the first and third seats and suspicious stain on the sixth, he almost, almost believes it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “dumbfuckastu” sounds like an insult from miu herself. thank u sharon  
> a) himiko brings the extra silk ropes.  
> b) hope the ropes from kork’s bag are enough.
> 
> i built this chapter out of order (bc i’m trying smthn new in updating) so if there’s a random chunk missing or smthn let me know!


	9. it all comes crashing down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me, knowing that just bc i find ONE plot hole doesn’t mean i have to rewrite it all, only fix the plot hole:
> 
> me, guilt ridden and disappointed, deleting half of the future story and frantically rewriting:

“Um, I appreciate it, Momota-kun, but I think it’s safer to leave it be until um...” Shuichi didn’t want to say a professional, at risk of Kaito insisting he was very much a professional from training. While he may have some med training, Kaito was also injured. That was bound to be a recipe for disaster.

Luckily, Kaito didn’t take it personally, but gave him a knowing look anyways. “I get it, Shuichi. We gotta at least sling it up, though.”

It was a pretty painful process. Every movement set off rapid flares of pain up his shoulder.

Shuichi’s jacket was stiff and uncomfortable chafing against his neck, but it served its purpose well enough. Jacket wrapped around his wrist to elbow and tied off around his neck, Shuichi moves around hesitantly. It was so much better than when his arm had been free. Still hurt when he went too fast, and throbbed even when he was still, but it surpassed the nearly mind numbing pain of before. Or maybe the cold was just cutting off his feeling now that his jacket was off.

“Thank you,” Shuichi says as Kaito checks over the makeshift sling.

Kaito gives him a thumbs up. “Of course, Shuichi! I gotta take care of my sidekicks. Any other injuries I should be worried about?”

“The only injury you should be worried about is yours,” he insists gently. “Your breathing is very unstable. I’m worried you hurt your ribs...”

Kaito went for a smile, and tries to breathe quieter. “I’m all good! Don’t worry about me-“

“Momota-kun,” Shuichi grimaces. “If a rib punctured a lung-“

“It’s nothing like that,” Kaito glances away, gritting his teeth slightly. “It’s not—shit, there’s nothing in my lungs or anything.”

“So then it’s just your ribs?” Shuichi latches into the rare vulnerability eagerly, before Kaito can brush it off again. “That still calls for-“

“Some makeshift binding, yeah.”

Shuichi frowns. “But there’s nothing here we can use... other than your jacket-“

“Nope! Not a chance. Don’t worry about me, man, really! I can hold out ‘til Maki gets us back out.” Kaito jabs a thumb into his chest, and barely holds back a wince. “Something as petty as this won’t bring down Momota Kaito.”

Shuichi sighs, knowing that he won’t get anywhere like this, but also that Kaito was probably right in his own weird way. The only thing he could really do is wait for Maki to come back. There wasn’t anything here to use, and even his jacket wouldn’t put enough pressure to actually help. Still... “will you at least let me check how many are hurt? And if they’re broken or fractured?”

Kaito looks like he’s about to say no, spit out some bravado to hide his hurt and focus on Shuichi’s. That is unfortunately interrupted by a horrid wheeze forcing its way through Kaito’s teeth, as if his lungs themselves would not accept no for an answer. He frowns, obviously unhappy but acquiesces nonetheless. 

Kaito moves his hand off his chest, and Shuichi holds the flashlight high to avoid blinding him, moves Kaito’s shirt up and hesitantly puts a hand on his side.

For his part, Kaito stays pretty still. Pressing gently, he bites his lip at the large bruise in his side. 

He won’t be able to accurately assess this, if course. The proper way to figure this out was with an x-ray. Since they were out of luck on that front, the best they could do was estimate. Based on the amount of bruising and Kaito’s pain rating—he said 3, which Shuichi takes as an 8—plus his labored breathing, they guess that he likely doesn’t have _broken_ ribs, but fractures were fair game. 

“Maybe three or so?” Shuichi worries. Three broken ribs was dangerous. Any further rough treatment might exacerbate the fractures to the point of breakage, and if they broke they could puncture his lungs, and—

A hand hits the top of his head, ruffles his hair. “You’re worrying too much, Shuichi! Turn that frown upside down.”

He resists the urge to roll his eyes fondly at the childish saying. Instead, he says, “Of course I’m worried! We’re both injured, and your ribs might worsen, even just from the climb up! Not to mention the cold-“ shit, he completely forgot about Kaito being cold. Now that he was using his jacket as a sling, Shuichi was starting to feel chill seep in too. Thankfully it was less so down here, as while the air itself was cold, the lack of snow that fell with them helped. Even so, their breaths and words came out in chill cloudy puffs. His arms were nearly numb, their only saving grace the borrowed gloves on his hands. Kaito was in _pajamas_. “What if-“

”What’s the point in fretting over what-ifs? We could what if a lot down here. What if Maki gets caught up by...” they have no idea what to call the thing wearing Kaito’s appearance- “and we get stuck down here for a while? Or if our fingers freeze off?”

Shuichi feels nauseous. “I’m not sure this is helping...”

”Or what if this hole turns out to be a volcano and we get caught in the explosion?”

”What...? That’s-“

”Ridiculous, right! That’s what I’m getting at. You can’t sit around pondering over every what if, cause anything that can happen, will happen, and anything that won’t happen, just won’t! Trying to predict it is no good. You just gotta be ready for anything life throws at you!”

Shuichi stares for a moment, unsure why he’s surprised. Of course Kaito would say something like that. He shakes his head, feeling a bit lighter. Kaito, like Kaede, was a beacon of determination for their class. He still felt anxious, but there was already so much going wrong. He didn’t need to add more by being paranoid.

He smiles, shaking his head gently as Kaito pats his uninjured shoulder carefully but reassuringly. ”I’ll try to relax... but I-“

There’s noises—it sounds like something was being ripped up from the earth, a little bit away, but still close enough to feel the effects. It was loud, like something rushing. The ground began vibrating horribly. Not so much an earthquake, but...

”Shit,” Kaito hisses, moving away quicker than he should away from the rocky walls. Snow fell over the lip, coming down in packs to splat against the bottom. “What the fuck’s that noise? Like a pack of trees getting torn up!”

Shuichi feels like the universe heard them talking and did this to spite them. “Is this an avalanche?”

Kaito grimaces. “Sounds like it. Shit.”

Shuichi swallows. “Do you think that’s...” 

Neither of them finish, but both can tell what they’re thinking. _Do you think that’s the thing with Maki_?

“No way,” Kaito says. “I mean, it’s freaky, but it couldn’t do all this.”

”Not by itself,” Shuichi whispers, a bad feeling taking over.

”It doesn’t matter,” Kaito says confidently, moving towards the tunnel. The snow was falling down quickly now, not threatening to bury but to land on them in packs, and packed snow never felt good. “Maki Roll’s gonna be back in no time, and we’ll figure out what the hell that guy thinks he’s doing taking my face. We’re gonna be a-okay! We just gotta believe in her, and outselves. Hell, I bet Kaede’s got a whole search party on the loose!”

_______  
  


The lake was humongous. It took them practically eons to travel around it to reach the tower. Kaede may have been convinced to not go to the cabin, but she wouldn’t be convinced to walk across a frozen body of water. Even she knew that was just asking for disaster.

So they went around at a moderate pace. She had to be convinced against running, under the idea that running in the snow was dangerous, especially because the snow was nearing knee-level around the lake. They couldn’t see anything on the ground like before. The snow was lower on the banks, but she didn’t want to rusk being that close to the water. It gave her a bad feeling.

Kaede was shaking from the cold and the fear. Her friends in the cabin had gone silent after claiming Tenko was approaching the door. No matter how much she yelled into the radio—and convincing Rantarou to talk into it as well—no one was responding.

There was also an odd tension in the group. Kirumi looks disheveled, while Kokichi, after claiming Kirumi “ _sucked at lying_ ,” completely dropped the topic and went back to clinging onto Gonta’s arm. Kaede has no clue what happened there. 

Kokichi said Kirumi was lying, but not what she was lying about. It was a general rule to take everything he said with a grain of salt—more like an ocean of salt—but Kaede has learned more about him during their time spent together. Dealing with him was more like dealing with a young child—an annoyingly intelligent, bratty child, but child nonetheless. Despite the frustration he brings, they got on oddly well. He certainly brought out a chaotic side of her she hadn’t indulged in since she was younger. 

Her relationship with Kirumi was just as confusing. She still doesn’t think she’s convinced the girl to treat them all as friends, rather than employers. Kirumi needed a lot of kind persuasion to partake in anything fun without any other motive. Even on this vacation, she was still insistent on taking care of all them rather than herself or letting go and having fun, even just for one night. But Kirumi was also a source of peace, with her calm demeanor and words wiser than her age.

Between the two of them, Kirumi was obviously the one to believe in, but...

But Kaede couldn’t help the her gut feeling, the feeling that had been telling her not to agree with the path the maid chose, that had told her it was strange that Kirumi ‘forgot’ the path when the maid was applauded on her amazing memory by their teachers every week.

Kaede wants to believe in her, to think her err in judgement was just from the adrenaline and fear for their friends. 

What reason would she have to purposefully lie, though...?

Most of the time, when Kokichi calls someone else out for lying, he’s telling the truth.Whether he actually cares enough to pursue their lie was another thing entirely. 

Kaede kept fretting over it, biting at her freezing fingers. Speaking of her fingers, Kaede really regrets staying in her outfit. She couldn’t feel them much now, and her legs felt even worse. 

The others weren’t doing too hot either, though still better than her. Tsumugi blew on her hands softly, sticking close to Gonta as her glass clogged with frost. Gonta’s glasses had similar issues, the chill placing a small film over the lens. He had evidentially given up on constantly wiping his nose, simply holding up his handkerchief to block off anyone else from seeing the snot. All in all, he was probably the best prepared for this from his forest life. She can’t imagine dealing with this as a child. Korekiyo‘s face was covered, so she couldn’t entirely tell, but his arms were wrapped around himself tighter than usual. Rantarou, Kokichi, and Kirumi were the only ones who appeared unaffected, as were there personalities—Rantarou walking next to her coolly, hands in his pockets, Kokichi skipping up ahead, Kirumi holding her longer skirts up and keeping her head up—but anyone who took a closer look could see the shake in their arms or the red in their nose. 

She once again feels guilt, though this time for making her friends come out like this so hastily. She should’ve given them an opportunity to change, put on an extra layer or two, but instead marched right out the door. She was so distracted, she didn’t even think to put on more clothes herself. 

Too busy scolding herself, she runs straight into Tsumugi’s back, who squeaks and glances at her awkwardly.

”Oh,” Kaede breathes, surprised. “Sorry about that. We’re here already?”

“We’ve been here,” Kokichi whines, “you’ve been out for twenty minutes! We already used the tower.”

”You’ve only been out for five minutes,” Rantarou shakes his head. _That’s not much better_!

”Did I really zone out for that long? Damn, we need to get a move on, then! We still haven’t heard back from the cabin, what’re you waiting for?” With a new sense of urgency, she hustles to the base of the tower when an arm catches her waist.

”Slow down,” Rantarou keeps a firm hold on her. He continues before she can protest. “I know you’re worried. We all are. But are friends are capable. Chabashira’s protecting the cabin. Harukawa can protect Momota and Saihara, and they’re all ultimates. Even if something happens, they can handle it.”

She knows he’s right, but her spirit still flares at the opposition. “Yes, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do all we can to help!”

“You’re not gonna help anyone like this.”

”Have you even bothered to look at the tower?” Kokichi drawls snootily. 

She wants to say of course she looked at the tower, they’ve been approaching it this whole time, but then she takes a moment to actually look at it up close.

It’s on the edge of a cliff. It’s not at that top—there’s more hill to the left, and the tower is tilting slightly, two of the supports down on the side of the cliff while the other two are here next to the lake. The ladder disappears up into the tower, metal rusting obvious against the wood of the looming structure. It’s a long way up the tower, and an even longer way down the gorge.

The tower was tall, blocking slices of moonlight that calm her as she finally takes the time to calm down and listen. That... did not look good.

”That doesn’t look like it’s holding up safety requirements,” Tsumugi comments, worrying her lip. “Can we even all go up there?” 

“I’m not sure anyone should go up,” Kirumi says. 

“It looks as though the tower will fall over at any minute.” Korekiyo hums. “It might not be the best idea to go in.”

”Then of course we have to go in!” Kokichi crows cheerfully. Gonta quiets him, panicked. 

“Be careful! Too much noise could trigger avalanche!” 

“This _tower_ falling is gonna cause an avalanche! It looks like the pizza tower.”

”The _Tower of Pisa_ ,” Korekiyo corrects with a suffering sigh. “But yes, it appears quite unstable. If we are going to use it, I recommend only a few at a time. And our lighter members only.”

”You heard the man! Buff down, Gonta-chan.”

“Okay, Gonta will buff down to help.”

Tsumugi lit up. “Oh, are you going to show your true self and reveal that you’re really a skinny old man?”

”That’s not necessary,” Rantarou tells Gonta quickly, before Tsumugi could go on a rant or the giant had a chance to do whatever he thought buffing down was. “But we should try to keep the amount up there as small as possible.”

“I will volunteer,” Korekiyo places a gloved hand on his face. “I have experience manipulating such technology.”

”I will also go, in case you need assistance.Ouma-kun,” Kirumi says cautiously, as if he would . “May I take the fire extinguisher?”

Jeez, Kaede nearly forgot about they had brought extra. Tsumugi kept the bat, Kokichi kept the extinguisher despite mostly making Gonta carry it, and Korekiyo had a knife. Where he was hiding _that_ , she had no clue. It certainly wasn’t in his hands.

“Nope!” Kokichi snatches the item in question from Gonta, childishly squeezing it to his chest. “It’s mine!”

”You actually _want_ the extinguisher?” Rantarou raises a brow. Kaede belatedly notices his arm is still around her. “Wouldn’t it just be a hassle?”

“I want to try and create a signal,” Kirumi answers easily, placing a hand to her chest.

Korekiyo caught on quickly. “Ah, I see. Normally, we ought to use a flare, but since we have not run into one, the pressurized foam might be a decent replacement.”

The maid nods. “I am not sure how well it will work, but I believe it’s worth the effort.”

Kaede grins at them, scolding herself internally for doubting Kirumi before. “Have faith in your plan, Tojo-san! That’s a great idea.” They look at Kokichi expectantly.

”Hmm, sounds interesting, but still no!”

Kaede pushes down the immediate irritation. “What?! Why not?”

”I don’t want mom to have it! It’s mine!”

”Then _you_ bring it up,” Rantarou replies calmly, offering the easiest solution.

”Nope. I don’t wanna mess with a stinky radio.” Kokichi and Kirumi are having another staring contest. Kaede wishes she could figure out what the hell was going on with them.

Kaede decides to talk to him about it. “Fine, we can just worry about a signal later. We need to get back to the cabin ASAP. Tojo-san and Shinguuji-kun, can you handle the radio?”

”I can go as well,” Rantarou speaks up. He finally takes his arm away but leaves a hand on her shoulder. “I messed with radios a lot with my sisters.” His face fell slightly, but he continued nonetheless. Rantarou and his sisters were way, way too complicated for a guy his age to handle, though he kept it up well. “Just us three should be fine, right?”

Watching anxiously as the three traveled up—ladder creaking scarily—despite wanting to go up there and make sure they were doing it quickly and efficiently, she forces herself to calm down. 

_Trust in them,_ she repeats to herself. _You don’t need to take control. You don’t even know how to use a radio. Trust in them._

 _But you didn’t take control earlier_ , her subconscious whispers. _And you were led down the wrong path_.

Kaede runs a hand down her face and decides to distract herself. 

“Ouma-kun,” she sighs, “why?”

”Huuuuh? Why what? Why am I such a dashing leader? I ask myself everyday.”

”Don’t be stubborn right now. Why did you accuse Tojo-san of lying?”

”Lying? Tojo-chan _lied_? I can’t believe you’d accuse mom of doing something like that! You’re too cruel,” he wails, though not as loud as he would usually. 

“But it was Ouma-kun who said that,” Gonta says, confused. He was glancing around anxiously, probably trying to find bugs. She doubted he came across any this time either.

Tsumugi lifts a finger. “Oh, is it possible that he’s had his memories stolen, only to leave phantom memories like-“

”No one knows what you’re talking about and no one cares,” Kokichi dismisses.

”Ouma-kun, don’t be rude,” she scolds. “That’s a terrible thing to say.”

”But you don’t disagree, right?”

”That’s not the point!”

”I’m not sure that’s helpful,” Tsumugi mutters, but goes ignored as Kaede continues.

“Don’t be so disrespectful to a person’s face.”

“Isn’t that just you advising him to say it behind my back?! That’s even worse!”

”Gonta thinks friends should calm down. Too cold to spend energy fighting.” 

Kaede agrees almost immediately. She didn’t know how much longer she could last outside. “Fine. If you won’t tell me why you thought she was lying, will you at least tell me why you won’t let go of the extinguisher?”

He tilts his head as he plops down in the snow. Kaede winces at the sight, let alone at the phantom feeling. “This ratty old thing? I couldn’t care less about it.”

Kaede feels steam shoot out of her ears. “You just refused to let us use it! And to go up with it yourself!”

”No I didn’t. I said _Tojo-chan_ couldn’t have it. Man, for a musician, you’re really bad at listening.”

”Maybe she’s a deaf pianist with a doomed ending!”

“What’s your problem with Tojo-san?” 

“I wonder how Tojo-chan got her title,” Kokichi segues, choosing to ignore her to toss a snowball at Gonta, who actually manages to catch it in his hand without it completely breaking. Impressive. “Hey, are you trying to be the Ultimate Firefighter? If you say yes and agree to give up your title, I’ll give it to you.”

“That-“ she gives up on deciphering him, knowing his stubbornness will remain no matter how much she pesters him for answers. “I’m not doing any of that. You only have a problem with Tojo-san having it, right? Can _I_ bring it up there, then?”

To her utter surprise, he agrees. “Since I’m such a benevolent overlord, I’ll give you what you want for a price!” _Doesn’t sound very benevolent, then_. “If, and only if, you pinky promise not to give it to Tojo-chan!” 

_Seriously_?

”Oh!” Gonta adds happily. “Pinky promise! You cannot break those.”

”Breaking it will set a curse upon you for life,” Tsumugi says wisely with a firm nod.

Kaede decides hell, why not. No point trying to argue when she could get what she wanted, albeit at an annoying price.

Weirdly enough, she ends up pinky promising all three of them, because Gonta wanted to be part of it and Tsumugi was, well, _Tsumugi_. Tucking the extinguisher under her arm, she makes her way up the ladder. She freezes, then turns to glare down at them. “You better keep those eyes away!”

Nobody was even looking up at her until she said that. The embarrassment is enough to rush blood to her cheeks, and she gets just a bit warmer. “I just said don’t look!”

Gonta covers his eyes. “Gonta promises he wasn’t! He would never! Pinky promise.”

”That’s okay,” Kaede assures immediately, now just wishing she had kept her mouth shut. The other two were laughing at her, though the cosplayer was much more subtle than the leader. 

Kokichi snickers at her outwardly, and doesn’t miss the chance to mess with her. “But how else will we see your bright pink panties?”

“Ouma-kun!” Gonta gasps, looking as if he just watched a bug be killed. “That is wrong!”

Kaede’s glare worsens as her cheeks get hotter. “You little- I told you never to bring that up!”

“Whaaaat? Shirogane-chan talks about it all the time.”

”I don’t believe that for a second.” To Kaede’s chagrin, Tsumugi did not deny the accusation. In fact, she averted contact and began asking Gonta about any bug he had seen around here, a clear avoidance. 

She huffs, and stomps angrily as best she can up the ladder as Gonta begins to both scold Kokichi, who sticks his tongue out, and answer sadly to Tsumugi that he’s only run into one butterfly.

It was an embarrassing memory. Somehow, while spending her free time with Tsumugi in the bathroom—honestly, why did she think that was a good idea—she ended up in her undergarments. While Tsumugi changed in a stall, Rantarou walked into room, leading to the horrifying discovery that they were really in the men’s bathroom—also to find out later that Kokichi had switched the labels. Rantarou _and_ Tsumugi had promised to tell no one what he saw, but Kokichi had an annoying way of finding out everything.

Not as though she hadn’t seen some of her other classmates underwear. That somehow always happened after she hung out with them a few times. Those memories were even more embarrassing. Regardless...

_How Kirumi got her title, huh...?_

Well, that was obvious. The same way any of them did. They were scouted, or in some cases cultivated. Kirumi was scouted as a fantastic maid, one who never turned down an order she could complete within reason, and could do so effectively. She was a powerhouse unto herself, always brushing off her capabilities as nothing. 

The ladder creaked again as she reached the first platform, and Kaede nearly takes a break there. But she knows if she does, she’ll never convince herself to go the rest of the way up, not with the weight of the extinguisher and her own stuff grip hindering her way up. _Keep moving. Keep my moving. Just keep moving for your friends sake_.

Kaede was immediately relieved when she opened the main hatch. The inside of the tower was less cold by far. She even considered staying in here until authorities came to get them. 

It was a pretty tiny room. A few desks covered in papers and trinkets, a locker, windows giving a great view of the world around them, thinking she might even see the cabin from here. Through the door was a railing that circled the room, almost like a lighthouse.

She sees Korekiyo turning the dial as Rantarou messes with the channels, though both pause as she enters, startling. 

“I see we’ve gained another member. I do hope Gokuhara-kun and Ouma-kun are not on your trail.”

”Ah, no, just me.” Too tired to explain why, she carefully drops the extinguisher in the room, then sits on an empty chair in the corner, right next to the locker.

”Perfect,” Kirumi says, moving to pick it up. Before she realizes, Kaede has taken the extinguisher again, clutching it close. When did she move?

“Uh,” she responds eloquently as Kirumi questions her sudden possessiveness over a bright red tube. “I can hold onto it, if that’s alright...” What was she doing? Why was she bothering to actually keep up the pinky promise? Not like Kirumi would do something bad with an extinguisher. In fact, she was probably the safest bet. So _why_ didn’t Kaede actually want her to have it?

Kirumi stares at her a long while, and Kaede feels too guilty to stare back. Korekiyo and Rantarou have turned their attention back to the radio, a whole lot of panels and knobs that she could never hope to understand. Why would she know how to tune a radio when she could tune a piano?

”I see,” Kirumi glances away. “You don’t trust me either. I understand.”

”Wait,” Kaede says, feeling even worse. “Of course I trust you! I trust and depend on you more than most of the class! I just want to be the one to do it.” She finishes lamely. _Should’ve just left it at dependable_. 

While obviously not believing her, the maid doesn’t call her out on it, which almost makes the pianist feel even more guilt. Why was she letting sporadic actions and thoughts allow her to hurt Kirumi’s feelings?

Kirumi moves to open the locker next to her. Kaede follows her dazedly, trying to think of a way to salvage the situation. She receives a distraction instead, as inside the locker is-

“A flare!” She cheers. “Guess we didn’t need that extinguisher after all.”

Kirumi takes the flare gun out carefully and checks it. “Three inside. How lucky for us. Are you alright with me having this?”

 _Passive aggressive. Not that I don’t deserve it_. “No, you can. Keep it. Yeah.” _Not smooth at all_. She should just stop talking until she figured out what to say to make it up to Kirumi, who was still thankfully not showing any outward anger or disappointment, though she never did. 

Another item inside the locker catches her eye. A picture, a girl with the word **MISSING** impossible to avoid.

She’s beautiful, with blonde hair pulled into careful twin tails. She looks like a model, elegant features and something cruel in her sharp blue eyes. All of the information that usually comes with a missing persons report is gone, torn off from the page. 

Just the sight of it made her feel terrible. _I hope she’s been found. Though, why does she look familiar_?

Kirumi seemingly couldn’t care less about the paper, or maybe she just doesn’t see it, and walks away to go to outside, letting in a sharp breeze. Kaede feels the strange urge to take the paper before she follows suit, wishing Korekiyo and Rantarou good luck with the radio.

It’s just as mind-numbingly cold as it was before, made worse from the brief retreat of warmth. She’s ready to end it all just to get some pants.

Kirumi glances at her with a soft smile. Always so kind, even when others treated her poorly. “Would you like to do the honors?” And holds out the flare. 

”Ah, no, that’s alright. Thank you.” Kaede didn’t want a gun _near_ her fingers, even just a flare gun. If it malfunctioned and hurt her hands, she would be utterly devastated.

Kirumi nods, tells her to cover her ears. Kaede does so and steps farther away for good measure.

Kirumi fires off one flare. _Two left,_ the maid claims.

Simultaneously, the radio hooked on her backpack goes off. Miu’s voice rings through, Kaede nearly falling to her knees in relief. She can’t believe she nearly forgot about them— _some fucking leader I am_. 

She bites her lip to hold down her own anger, and focuses on the safety of her friends.

“Finally! Are you okay?! Who was outside?” A voice starts to answer, but she’s on a roll. “Why would you just cut out like that? What if something happened and no one knew because you cut off our inter-“

”Goddamn, shut up already, will ya! It was just killer sports bra! I’ve been tryna tell ya for a year now.”

What? “Harukawa-san? Only her? What about Saihara-kun? Momota-kun? There’s no way they’re missing, right? Why was she banging on the door so much? Are you sure-“

”Oi, flat fits, take the fuckin’ pole outta yer ass and listen! We’re good here, alright! Just use the stinkin’ tower. It was just assassin bitch. Fuck if I know where the other two are. She prolly stuffed ‘em in her trunk.”

”Iruma-san, wait! Give the radio to- hey!” The radio was silent, and Kaede resisted the urge to chuck it straight off the cliff side in the brief fit of rage. Of course Miu was the one who answered the radio. It couldn’t be Kiibo, who would’ve acknowledged her panic and actually explained. All she wanted to know was where the other two were now. How did Maki come back without them? Despite how cold she appeared, she would never leave someone lost in the mountains, let alone the two people she tolerated the most, right?

She looks over to Kirumi for confirmation and to share her concerns, only to find she’s not next to her anymore—she spies the maid is on the other side of the balcony through the windows. The other is looking down at something. Maybe a phone.

Wait. Phone!

Kaede takes hers out, not expecting anything useful, except-

_good luck with the storm. don’t get caught up._

...

Ryoma’s text was the only thing on the screen. 

Firstly, what the hell was happening to her phone?

Secondly—what was he talking about?!

She texts him back immediately, asking _what are you talking about? what storm?!_

_is that why you didn’t come with us? since when was there a storm?!?!??!_

_hoshi-kun???_

It’s then that Rantarou makes a triumphant noise, then frantically signals for her to come in. Thinking they made a breakthrough, she hurriedly joins them. There’s a static voice emoting through, crackling so severely she wouldn’t be surprised if her ears began bleeding. 

“-peat. How many of there are you?”

”There are 15 of us. Some of us are separated.”

Kaede, while elated they were answered, is severely distracted by Ryoma. Something was clearly wrong with them, and whatever was happening on the mountain, but something was wrong with Ryoma, too. 

“There is someone else with us.”

A sharp popping sound from outside. Kaede hears it without _listening_.

She noticed that while she can’t exit to her home screen, there is an icon next to Ryoma’s name allowing a call. She presses it hard as soon as she sees.

“Well, no, they haven’t hurt us, but-“

_Pick up, pick up, pick up._...

”Three of our friends are missing,” Rantarou continues, as the person on the other side questions them. Evidently, he thinks this is a bunch of teenagers messing around. Kaede finally looks up as the phone begins to ring. 

(Gonta furrows his brows, as he sees and hears another flare being shot. Isn’t that a waste?)

She lunges forward as the man threatens to hang up. “Someone has stalked us up here,” Kaede breathes, attention split too many ways and too much focus all over the place. There’s someone stalking them. Someone’s attacking the house. It’s just Maki. There’s a storm. Kirumi is lying or not and there’s more crackling from outside. “They sliced up our power. Two of our friends haven’t come back in an almost an hour. One just found her way back alone. We can’t call them.”

The line is silent, and she nearly tears out her hair. Korekiyo holds a hand up, calming her.

(Kokichi and Tsumugi glance up with Gonta, eyes widening at the sight. 

“She shot it _down_?” Kokichi hisses quietly. “Who ordered her to do that?”

“Ordered?” Gonta asks, even as he watches it with her own eyes. 

”Order? E-even if she was ordered, would she really do something that bad?!” Tsumugi covers her mouth. “We could’ve used that! Not to mention the tower is _wooden_! Has she been possessed by an alter ego? Now isn’t the time for Twojo! They’re going to get hurt.”

Kokichi moves forward, gets close to the cliff’s edge to see for himself. “Be careful!” Gonta startles, moving along with him. Tsumugi follows.) 

“Are you able to get down to safety yourself?” 

“Leaving without them is not an option,” Korekiyo hums, not sounding as moved as she would like, though it did sound like an order.

”Please get down by yourselves if you can,” the man repeats. “I understand you’re worried for your friends, but you best get down. There’s a storm coming. We won’t be able to get there until tomorrow, at the earliest, and that’s not even guaranteed-“

”Storm?” Kaede whispers. The phone call has went through. Ryoma picked up. The tower shakes. 

“What kind of storm?” Kirumi questions, directly behind her. When did she come back inside?

”Thunderstorm. If you can get down from there, it would be much safer. It wouldn’t be good to let all of you get hurt trying to save three. We will handle it.”

”What?!”

”We may be able to send rescuers to search before it gets too close, but we cannot send rescue helicopters to bring all of you down. The storm is too close to risk it. If you can get down safely by yourselves-“

There’s a sharp cracking noise as the world trembles and begins to skew. 

(“She set it on fire!” Tsumugi shrieks. One of the wooden supports is burning, bright red and the only source of noise now, the roar overtaking their voices. “The flare hit the wood!”

Kokichi looks bewildered, a face Gonta has seen on him only once before when he called the other his friend. “She wouldn’t complete this type of order... what is she _doing_?”

”Akamatsu!” 

“No!” Gonta interrupts Tsumugi, quickly apologizing for cutting of a lady’s speech. “Yelling might cause avalanche!”

”The tower will cause an avalanche anyways!” Tsumugi argues, though she looks conflicted. The snow is already rushing down.)

”What the-“ Korekiyo manages to get out before another sharp crack, another strong jolt.

There’s a noise from her phone, but she can’t hear it, not with all the noise and the vague sound of her name being called from below.

”We need to get out-“ Rantarou barks, his usual composure lost as the sharp noises turn into stronger creaking. 

“Tojo!” Another call from below. “Amami, Shinguji! Come down!”

Kirumi gets to the hatch first, and struggles opening it. “It’s stuck!” 

“How?!” Korekiyo hisses, moving to join her when his movement sparks a sudden crack and Kaede is thrown into the desk. 

“Don’t move!” Kirumi orders. They all stand tense, still as the air of the forest, though that does nothing when they smell the smoke. The man on the radio is still talking, now _actually_ sounds concerned, but it’s choppy and broken and they’re going to fall off the cliff in the tower. The smoke is clogging her brain already.

”Are we on _fire_?!” She gasps, turning to look out the panel. _How_?

”Should-“ Rantarou grits out, eyes wide as discs as the tower keeps tilting even with them standing still. _We’re gonna die. We’re gonna fucking die, and we didn’t even save Shuichi or Kaito or Maki. I’ve failed. We’re going to die._

The snow is aggravated, c oming down fast, packs of it rolling down with no hope of stopping as the tower tips tips _tips_ over the gorge, the wooden support weak to the growing flames going higher and higher, undeterred by the cold or snow.

There’s no time to help them. No matter how much he wants to, there’s nothing that can be done. The tower is already tipping.The snow is coming quick. Even with all his years of living with his forest family, he never knew snow could be so loud—the rush of it roaring in the night, or maybe it was fear rushing blood through his ears. Time is in slow motion and fast forward and paused all at once. 

Tsumugi is freaking out, having taken off her sweater to try and blow the flames out from afar. Gonta may not be the smartest, but even he knows it would never work. He already tried as the other two yelled.

Gonta is running towards her, a tight grip on Kokichi slung over his shoulder—he hopes he’s not hurting him—and grabs her around the waist. The snow is coming. They can’t save the four in the tower.

_Gonta is so sorry._

“We need to go!” Kokichi warns, able to see the white tsunami coming approaching. He makes no effort to be on his own feet.

Gonta looks at the long way to go around the lake, and the threat of ice directly in front of them, and whispers to the guiding moon for advice.

**a) go for a shortcut across the ice to try and outrun the avalanche.**

**b) go the long way around the lake and try and outrun the avalanche.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahaha... ahahaaha.... ha...
> 
> as always, i write sections of these chapters out of order to accommodate for the choices, so let me know if there appears to be a section missing. 
> 
> sorry for being inactive. i was revising and editing what would happen in the future of this fic.  
> thank you all for your previous comments on last chapter! i’m gonna try to respond to them better in the future hahahahaaaaa  
> also... good luck w these next few choices lmao

**Author's Note:**

> thank u for choosing this fic ! voting will be at the end of most chapters.  
> also let me know what you think so far, and stay safe :)


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